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Where to Navigate on Saint John’s Day
The feast of Saint John, also known as Saint John’s Night or Saint John’s Eve, is a Christian celebration commemorating the birth of Saint John the Baptist, and takes place on June 24th. The tradition is that on the night of the 23rd to the 24th, friends and family gather and light bonfires on the beach sand. It is a celebration known throughout Spain, but Saint John’s Day is actually a non-working day in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and in some other municipalities.
If you have the opportunity to rent a boat during the week of June 20th to 26th, you cannot miss any of the destinations we recommend below to experience the Saint John’s celebration firsthand. These are closely related to beaches, bonfires, and above all, the sea.
What is the tradition on Saint John’s Night?
It is known that this night is the shortest of the year due to a calendar change, from Julian to Gregorian, and before this correction was applied, the day could fall on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, or 25th. It is the astronomical beginning of summer.
The most traditional practice is to burn things in the bonfire itself, with the purpose of burning away all the bad from the year, or to turn the page. Additionally, rituals are performed, which we will now explain, to attract good luck, and which you should know if you are going to celebrate this festivity.
- Objects are burned: One of the most popular practices, such as writing your wishes on paper and then burning them, but they can also be fears, phobias, mistakes, etc. Everything is based on attracting all the positive things yet to come. On many occasions, papers are also burned (if you have finished an academic stage), objects (if you feel you should no longer use or carry it), etc.
- Making wishes: As we mentioned earlier, wishes should be written on paper, and these can be burned in the bonfire or thrown into the sea, but we must keep in mind that we could be polluting the environment.
- Bathing in the sea: Bathing during Saint John’s Night is part of the ritual and helps purify your soul and heal your pain.
- Jumping over the flames: One of the most eye-catching and also most popular, consisting of jumping at least 7 times to have good luck during the year.
- Washing your face: Just as bathing in the sea helps, washing your face also helps to preserve health and beauty for the rest of the year.
- Jumping the waves: If you jump at least 9 sea waves backwards, it is said you will have more fertility.
- Burying a candle: A rather curious ritual that consists of lighting it during Saint John’s Night and later burying it wherever we see fit.
- Making wishes to the stars: making wishes, as in the previous rituals, but this time in a more common way.
Now that you know exactly what Saint John’s Night consists of and what its rituals are, we suggest some destinations you can visit in one of the boats available to you to enjoy this special summer night.
You can choose from the different destinations we propose in Spain:
Fogueres de Sant Joan in Alicante
These bonfires are declared of International Interest, and are the official ones. The most important day of this celebration is when the more than 90 monuments are burned in the cremá, which are giant sculptures that have taken months to create. Therefore, if you want to spend an epic Saint John’s and see the province from the sea, you can go by boat from: the port of Alicante, the port of Campomanes, the Marina Salinas marina, etc.
Noite da Queima in A Coruña
Here it is known for the smell of grilled sardines, saltpeter, and burning wood. More than one hundred thousand people gather on the spectacular beaches of Orzán and Riazor, where you can spend the day on a boat and then approach the beach to be present at the bonfires. The orange color of the flames is reflected in the Atlantic waters, where at midnight you must bathe to purify yourself.
The night of the júas in Málaga
It is known for making the most of the shortest night of the year, as they organize concerts, cook espetos, have a wide variety of fireworks, and burn the júas. These are quite large rag dolls that satirize popular figures of the moment and end up in flames. At midnight you should take a bath, as we explained earlier, to preserve your beauty.
