The day of John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24th. This date comes near the time of the summer solstice when Russia’s ancient people used to pay homage to the god of vegetation, Kupala. At the summer solstice, Russians jumped over bonfires to ward off evil spirits and to guarantee good crops. At dawn they jumped into the water to wash away their sins and whatever sicknesses they might have. This day honoring the god Kupala was the most important holiday of the ancient Russians.

These two festivals, one in honor of the Christian Saint John the Baptist and the other in honor of the god Kupala, were combined to make a new celebration called Saint John Kupala’s Day. Perhaps it was because both Saint John the Baptist and the god Kupala were connected to the idea that water washes away what is bad—dirt and sin.

Saint John’s Eve was a special, magical time when all living things—animals and plants—could speak and understand one another. People believed that on Saint John’s Eve a miraculous fern with a fiery flower blossomed at midnight. Whoever picked the flower would have the ability to see treasures beneath the earth. To possess the blossom, one had to overcome the evil spirits who guarded it. The flower faded quickly and lost its power if it was not picked in time.

There is a story about a young man who went in search of the blossom on Saint John’s Eve. He hid the Bible in his clothing, and he took a sheet with him to hold the flower. He went to a glade in the forest. There, he drew a circle around the fern three times and lay the sheet down beside the fern to catch the bloom. Then, he began praying.

Exactly at midnight the fern blossomed like a star. Its flower fell onto the sheet. While praying, the young man picked it up and tied the sheet into a bundle.

Suddenly, a raging storm sprang up, but the young man wouldn’t let go of the flower. He held onto it and kept reading the Bible. Finally, dawn came and the sun rose. The young man got up and walked away with the bundle in his hand.

He heard someone riding up behind him. He looked around and saw someone in a red shirt. The stranger hit him with all his might. The young man dropped the bundle. When he woke up, it was night again. His bundle and the miraculous flower were gone. He was left with nothing. Sadly, no one has ever been able to pick the fern’s flower and keep it, so no one has ever been given the ability to see treasures beneath the earth.