La revetlla de Sant Joan, also called the "Verbenas de Sant Joan," or "Nit de Sant Joan", or in English the festival of Saint John the Baptist, is the Spanish midsummers eve celebration and celebrated every year in Spain and Barcelona on the evening of 23rd June.
Sant Joan in Spain is the midsummer solstice celebration, the start of the summer season and the day with the longest period of daylight in the year, not to be confused with the "Equinox", which are the days, when the day has equal lengths of day and night. The Equinoxes occurs twice a year usually in March and September.
In Spain and Barcelona the Sant Joan celebrations are on the evening of the 23rd June. The dayafter is the 24th June and this is Saint John's day and a public holiday in Catalonia and Spain.
The Sant Joan fiestas take place from sundown to sunrise on the eve of Saint John's day and are also called "verbenas," which means open-air fiestas or celebrations.The Sant Joan festival is also called La Nit de Sant Joan - the night of Saint John.
A tradition from ancient times
The summer solstice was considered the most important event of the solar year in ancient times.
Fire was celebrated on this day as the symbol of abundance, purity and fertility and to this day fire and fireworks are one of the central elements in the Festival of Sant Joan, illluminating the skies of Barcelona every year!
Visit the Barcelona city Nit de Sant Joan website http://www.bcn.es/santjoan for more details about verbenas (open-air celebrations) firework displays and bonfires all over Barcelona. Please note that the city website is usually opened just a few days before Sant Joan each year so until then it just displays an error page.
When it opens you can find information about events in each barrio of Barcelona, andplenty of information about Sant Joan traditions along with fireworks and bonfire safety information.
Sant Joan traditions: Fire!
The biggest element of the festival of Sant Joan is fire. The flame to light the fires is called the "Flama del Canigó," which is taken to different villages every year.
There will be bonfires, called hogueras Spanish or fogueres in Catalan, everywhere in Barcelona and Catalonia. You too can participate in the rituals of fire purification to cleanse your sins and rid yourself of bad luck by burning something. Old furniture is often used for the bonfire to symbolise a gesture of "out with the old - in with the new!
There are several traditions around the fires. One is that you write your wishes for whatever you want to leaping into the air three times.
Another and more dramatic fire tradition is to clasp the hand of your loved one, and leap together over a bonfire seven times!Then you will live happily ever after! And probably get well smoked!
In our opinion teh fire jumping is pretty reckless, unless the fire is very small. We have seen a few drunken revellers over the years trying to jump over big bonfires only to stumble and fall back into them instead. Scars ever after rather than happiness. We would leave that tradition behind.
Water is another important element of Sant Joan. According to tradition, on the eve of Sant Joan you can cleanse your sins in water symbolising the baptisms of Sant John.
And according to belief, a swim will cure all your ails, aches and pains. Any water will do. You can swim in the sea or in a lake or even just bathe your face with the morning dew and you will be sin-free and cured!
This is definately a much safer midnight tradition than jumping over bonfires! Drown your sins - don't burn them!
If you are on the beaches of Barcelona you will not be alone. Thousands of students and young people gather on the playas (mostly on Bogatell and Mar Bella) to celebrate the Nit de Sant Joan. Many choose to swim their sins away by taking a dip in the sea at midnight! The water temperature of the Barcelona is around 20-21 degrees at this time of year.
Watching the Sant Joan sunrise is an important part of it all and a good excuse for partying all night. Sunrise will be at around 06.15 on 23rd June.
Sant Joan traditions: Herbs!
Herbs are a big element of Sant Joan. Herbs are said to have curative powers that become one hundred times stronger on the night of Sant Joan. Thyme, Rosemary and Verbena (the herb that gave name to the fiestas!) are collected and eaten on Sant Joan. The herb verbena was offered to the Gods in ancient times. It has a very powerful smell and some say it has aphrodisiac properties.
Sant Joan traditions: Fireworks - Petards - Petardos
There is a strong tradition of fireworks in Catalonia purportedly stemming back to the days of the arab invasions. Each barrio in Barcelona has its own firework display along with local all-night bonfires fuelled by collections of old furniture! In the barrios you will find dancing and celebrations in the plazas, street parties, music and entertainment.
The firecracker - petardos - shops and huts spring up all over Barcelona and are usually open 10 days before the Night of Sant Joan.
So be prepared for many many small and big bangs on the days before Sant Joan, and after the festival. It can drive you quite mad, if you live in a busy neighbourhood - and you can forget the siestas during this week!
If you don't like loud bangs, then the weekend of the 23rd June is a good time to go on a weekend trip to France. Don't go to the Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Menorca or Ibiza. They celebrate Sant Joan too, as does the whole of Spain! Click here for safety tips about fireworks
Sant Joan traditions:Food!
Food is always a big part of a Catalan festival. It is a tradition to eat Catalan 'Coca' dessert. Coca consists of a bread base topped with with fillings of various kinds. The size of the bread should be twice as long as it is wide!
We hope you enjoy the Sant Joan festival in Barcelona!
And as the saying goes. "Fred per Nadal i calor per Sant Joan, salut per tot l'any" which means "Cold for Christmas, warm for Sant Joan, health for the whole year!"
The Barcelona metro and trams are open all night on 23rd June by the way, which is good because the Taxis in Barcelona charge an extra supplement of around 5 euros between midnight and 06.00!
