It was the festival of Sant Joan (St. John) this week in Catalunya. The celebrations start at sunset on June 23 and run through until sunrise on the 24th (which is the feast day marking the birth of St John the Baptist), and are popularly known in this region as the Nit del Foc, meaning “night of fire.”
It is also the noisiest night of the year. Fire, with its purifying qualities, is one of the three symbols of the festival. As such it is traditional to light bonfires, as the flames are supposed to scare off the imaginary creastures that come out at night, and to ward off bad luck for the remainder of the year.
And along with the bonfires come huge organised firework displays, as well as a general and continuous explosion of rockets and firecrackers from every quarter, which lasts right through until dawn. Of course, you can imagine what licence for uproar this gives to the local kids.
A second symbol associated with Sant Joan is water, which is supposed to have curative powers on this night. According to the Barcelona city council’s website (http://www.bcn.es/santjoan/en/simbols.html), it is also customary to collect thyme, rosemary and verbena, as the powers of medicinal plants are thought to increase during this period.
Taken together, the Christian religious festival and these pagan Midsummer symbols that underlie it speak of purification and health, of rebirth. Not that many of the celebrants looked all that rejuvenated on the feast day itself I noticed, having been up most of the night. Nevertheless, the fiesta seemed to me a fitting reminder to all of us to make the most of the passing year.
To this end, it should mean celebrating our health and summer’s blessings. And also to seek out our own form of “rebirth,” in the sense of creating a better life for ourselves, whatever form your goals may take.
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