miłej kupalnocki, happy midsummer, etc etc etc!

from both me and my favourite slavic-adjacent king!

kupalnocka (noc kupały, kupala night, etc) is the traditional west and east slavic celebration of the summer solstice, love, and cleansing. among a number of other things, women weave garlands of flowers, herbs, and ferns and send them floating down rivers and streams to divine their future luck in relationships. to have it brought back was seen as a confession of love (even if for one night...) and a man would sometimes follow a particular woman's wreath even into deep or dangerous waters to return it. people would head into the forest to search for the legendary fern flower. which does not exist, of course. but who could blame you and maybe somebody of your choice for spending hours, alone, in the woods, all night, looking for such an important, elusive flower...

fun fact: the embroidery pattern is riffed from the traditional handicrafts of a region spread between poland, ukraine, and belarus! most slav per stitch!