What is the Night of San Juan and why is it celebrated in Spain

The Night of San Juan is a party that takes place at midnight from June 23 to 24 . At the moment it is a Christian celebration, however its origins; like many other celebrations, it is of pagan origin.

Although it is a very popular celebration in Spain , the Night of San Juan is also celebrated in other countries in Europe and Latin America such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela, among others.

Read on and discover more about the origin of the Night of San Juan and its celebration.

How was the Night of San Juan born?

The Night of San Juan has its origins, or rather, it is the celebration of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere but Christianized. In ancient times, to celebrate the longest day of the year, it was customary to light bonfires at night to purify the sun and give it greater strength, because from that date, the days would become shorter until the next solstice.

With the advent of Christianity, this tradition, as well as many others, were associated with purely Christian events. In this case, the birth of Saint John the Baptist was chosen, because according to the Bible this prophet came into the world on June 24.

This adaptation explains why the Night of San Juan is celebrated in a fixed way at the end of the day of the 23rd and the beginning of the 24th, since the solstice occurs every year on different dates and depends on the phases of the moon.