The story of the June T-shirt is a little more complex. The image on the shirt is an illustration of the story below, an illustration of the holiday that our ancestors knew as »Kupalo« an illustration of love, nature, earth and the sky.
»Kupalo«(folk name) – bonfire night, on this day the sun has the strongest power, the sky opens, which allowed our ancestors to connect with the gods and worship them.
Folk tradition says that plants have the strongest power on this day, so they should be harvested and dried at that time. On this day, a person can understand the language of animals and plants if a fern seed accidentally falls into his pocket. The fern is the most important summer solstice plant.
Bonfire Night is associated with one of the biggest Old Slavic holidays it takes place on the 23rd of Rožnik (June), on this evening the god Kresnik is celebrated, a reflection of the summer solstice period. Kresnik is one of the most important Old believer gods, who is known only in Slovenia and northern Croatia. The origin of the name comes from the word »kresiti«, which means to hit hard.
Over the centuries, like all old Slavic beliefs, the god Kresnik also had different roles, this is due to the age of dualism in religion. He was given a new role in mythological stories, some of his functions were lost, while others were newly developed. His name also comes from the word “bonfire”, which has a double meaning – fire, which illustrates the sun and its thundering functions. Like Perun, he fights with his enemies by throwing arrows (»kresati« = to strike), his four-eyed dog or his brother Trot help him in his battles in the sky.
The mythological story of the spring George or Jarilo and Mara. On the summer solstice, we not only celebrate the sun god at his greatest strength of the year, but also the sacred marriage between the sky god and the earth goddess Mara. The mythological story is about the wedding of Ivan Kresnik and Mara. They get engaged on the spring equinox when Kresnik is stil the god Jarilo and get married on the summer solstice. Therefore, the rituals include fire and water, as their two symbols and the “divine” union of heaven and earth.
Mara is the daughter of Perun, her name comes from the root »mor«, which means to die. Later, Ivan (Jarilo/Kresnik) takes advantage of her and cheats on her with the daughter of the snake queen, so Mara kills him and thus becomes Morana (goddess of death), who ends up dying herself as she can only live for one year. Another story about Jarilo’s death tells the story about Jarilo’s life, which is tied to the plant cycle, he must die after the harvest, so Mara kills him and becomes Morana. The death is a ritual sacrifice where Morana uses Jarilo’s body to build a new house. Without her husband, she then turns into an old, terrible and deadly woman who has power over death, cold and winter. Finally, she also dies at the end of the year. The following year, the myth repeats itself.
Due to the related sound of the names Krstnik (John the Babtist) and Kresnik and due to the proximity of the saint’s shrine, the worship of the Slavic god Kresnik gradually replaced the worship of St. John the Baptist. Kresnik’s mythological cycle was, at least in part, gradually transferred into the tradition of St. John the Baptist or »Šentjanž«- that is why during his celebration it is preserved under the name »Ivan’s«, »Johns’s« or »Šentjanž’s« bonfires until today.
Don’t forget – the summer solstice is a magical night full of love. Couples used to jump over fire to cement their bonds, and many children were also conceived on this night.
No products in the cart.