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The unmarried youth enjoy Lugansk's Ivan Kupala Day celebrations.

Ivan Kupala Day, held in Lugansk, is one of the most celebrated days throughout Ukraine. It takes place on the 24th of June and is renowned for its array of culture and festivities.

The event was, and still is in many respects, aimed at young people who are unmarried. The festival consists of a wide range of local performers who come to the destination to entertain through music, art and drama. Traditional songs and customs are carried out by the young people. Children take part in lot of water fights and tricks involving water. The night before is known as Tvorila night and is known as the night for 'good humour' and pranks.

Festivities tend to go on throughout the night. The unmarried men in Lugansk create the Kupalytsia doll which is clothed to look like a woman. Whereas the Kupala doll is made by the women and dressed up to look like a man. At the end of the festival the Kupala doll is burned and the Kupalytsia drowned.

Kupala Day is celebrated not only in Ukraine but also the destination of Russia, Poland and Belarus. The festival relates to the end of the summer solstice which is when the nights become shorter. It is thought that the holiday was originally a pagan fertility rite, Kupalo being the god of love and harvest. The Orthodox Christian church then accepted it into their own calendar. All except Belarus combine 'Ivan', or John the Baptist, and Kupalo. This was a failed attempt by the church to suppress the pagan tradition celebration.