# St John's Eve



## dePrades

How do you say that in Russian? канун Ивана Купали?


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## LilianaB

It is _на канунe Ивана Купалы_.


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## Maroseika

LilianaB said:


> It is _на канунe Ивана Купалы_.



Sorry, but this is wrong.
Накануне (as a solid word) Ивана Купалы - on the day before the holiday.
Канун Ивана Купалы - the name of the day before the holiday.
The difference is like "on Monday" and "Monday".

So correct translation of the 'St. John's Eve' is канун Ивана Купалы.
Another name of this holiday is Иванов день.


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## LilianaB

Isn't Midsummer Night_ наканунe Ивана Купалы ? _This is how most people I know refer to it. Sorry, it is probably spelled together. I have heard it said more often than I have seen it written. I also remember this http://feb-web.ru/feb/gogol/texts/ps0/ps1/ps1-137-.HTM, although I am not sure why Gogol used this form of his name.


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## LilianaB

How do you want it used in a sentence, dePrades? The form may depend on it.


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## Maroseika

LilianaB said:


> Isn't Midsummer Night_ наканунe Ивана Купалы ? _


_
No, it's either вечер накануне Ивана Купалы or канун Ивана Купалы.
Just накануне Ивана Купалы as the name of the time  is wrong.

Накануне is an adverb, канун is a noun.
Накануне Ивана Купалы is adverbial modifier of time (Когда? Накануне Ивана Купалы.); канун Ивана Купалы is the name of the day (Какой день? Канун Ивана Купалы.).

The difference is like between вечером and вечер:
Это случилось вечером / вчера вечером / вечером накануне Ивана Купалы.
Сегодня Новый год / Первое мая / первый день Великого поста / канун Ивана Купалы.
Сейчас у нас вечером.
Сейчас вечер.
Завтра накануне Ивана Купалы.
Завтра канун Ивана Купалы.

You see the difference?_


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## LilianaB

Yes, _накануне_ is an adverb, this is why I asked the OP how he wanted to use the phrase, because it may just as well fit perfectly. I like _вечер накануне Ивана Купалы_ the most of all expressions possible -- it sounds very beautiful and more appropriate than anything else. My question was why Gogol said _Купалa_ not _Купалы_. Thank you, Maroseika.


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## Maroseika

LilianaB said:


> My question was why Gogol said _Купалa_ not _Купалы_.


Because in Ukrainian it's Иван Купало (or Купайло): Купала => Купалы, but Купало => Купала.
Купало is also another Russian form.

And yet another variant of St. John's Eve is день (ночь) на Ивана Купалу.


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## LilianaB

Thank you, but it would not be appropriate in regular Russian, except for the title of his work, right? You could not really use it nowadays.


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## Maroseika

LilianaB said:


> Thank you, but it would not be appropriate in regular Russian, except for the title of his work, right? You could not really use it nowadays.


Well, according to the dictionaries it is outdated. As for me, I've never heard it live in any form. But I'm too far from religion, so you better wait for other foreros who are more privy to the issue.


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## dePrades

Sorry... I forget always to give the context. I want to write it in this sentence: На пляже отмечали канун Ивана Купалы. It's for a tradition that we celebrate in Catalonia  Thanks for your help!


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## rusita preciosa

dePrades said:


> На пляже отмечали канун Ивана Купалы.


Although your sentence is correct, it sounds a bit strange to celebrate канун праздника rather than праздник. You can celebrate a holiday the day before. I'd say на пляже отмечали праздник Ивана Купалы. Unless of course St.John's eve and St. John's day are two separate events and people do different things to celebrate them.


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## rusita preciosa

Come to think of it, there is a fixed expression in Russian for St.John's eve: *ночь на Ивана Купалу*. As I understand, that's where the celebration occurs, with the jumping over the fire etc... (sorry I'm not up to date with the religious rituals). In thic case, it would be
На пляже отмечали/праздновали ночь на Ивана Купалу.


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## LilianaB

I agree with you Rusita, except it is a pagan holiday, old Baltic, Slavic and Scandinavian pagan tradition. It is not a religious holiday. What do you think about вечер Ивана Купалы?


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## little green bird

I would say: "отмечали день Ивана Купала". This is how kids say it all the time. Does anyone remember the rhyme: "Сегодня день Иван Купала, обливай кого попало!"


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## Maroseika

little green bird said:


> I would say: "отмечали день Ивана Купала". This is how kids say it all the time. Does anyone remember the rhyme: "Сегодня день Иван Купала, обливай кого попало!"


Речь не об Иванове дне, а об его кануне.


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## little green bird

Я думаю, что речь как раз о празднике. Никто не переводит New Year's Eve как "канун Нового года". Это переводится как просто "Новый год", потому что так этот праздник называется у нас. У нас вообще не принято праздновать кануны, а на Западе принято, вот и все.


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## LilianaB

What dePrades means is definitely the folk tradition celebrated the night before St. John's Day. St. John's is a totally different holiday, it is a Christian holiday, during the day, not at night. This folk tradition is celebrated in Lithuania and in Northern Russia. I don't know about other places.


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## Maroseika

little green bird said:


> Я думаю, что речь как раз о празднике. Никто не переводит New Year's Eve как "канун Нового года". Это переводится как просто "Новый год", потому что так этот праздник называется у нас. У нас вообще не принято праздновать кануны, а на Западе принято, вот и все.



Тем не менее, в данном случае речь именно о кануне.


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## dePrades

Actually what I mean is "St John's Eve" and it's celebrated in Catalonia... I don't know if it's connected to religion (it should because of the name) but on the 24th June there is bank holidays... We don't celebrate anything special on the day, but the day before (St John's Eve = La revetlla de Sant Joan) there are bonfires, orchrests, dancing parties and people use fireworks for fun... That's what I wanted to name 

Thanks for your discussion!


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## LilianaB

Only the name is related to religion -- the rites are not and they were even fought against by various churches in the past, and then they made it into a combined holiday pagan rites and Christian name, but the real Christian holiday, which is not such a big holiday in a religious sense, is during the day, in many countries, at least.


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