Saint John 2018, water and fire purification in Barcelona
Tourists who take a stroll through Barcelona these days may come across wooden barricades in some of the city's squares. Far from organizing a revolution, the city is preparing for one of its most magical nights, the Eve of Saint John, a festivity of pagan origin that celebrated the summer solstice and which Christianity adopted by assigning the birth of Saint John the Baptist to June 24th.
With the passing of generations, this festival has lost its spirituality, evolving into the current San Juan's Eve, a popular celebration as we know it today, which enjoys deep roots both in our city and along the rest of the Mediterranean coast. In the case of Barcelona, it is experienced in a very decentralized way, in all neighborhoods, although with various common elements characteristic of that night such as street parties, community dinners, dances with live bands, and of course bonfires, which are erected in the main squares and intersections of our city.
Tradition dictates that all bonfires must be lit with the Flame of Canigó, a fire that originates at the peak of this massif and at midnight on June 22 begins its journey, spreading and branching out to ignite bonfires in towns and cities. Barcelona has been part of this tradition for over half a century. Thus, on the evening of the 23rd, the Flame of Canigó is solemnly received in Sant Jaume Square, where, in addition to the main authorities, the Giants and the Eagle of the City are also present, dancing to celebrate the summer solstice. After lighting a torch, representatives from each neighborhood take a bit of the primal fire to carry the flame that will light the bonfires of all the districts.
The lighting of bonfires at sunset gives way to a night where some streets are strewn with green, red, and yellow light bulbs and paper flags, as sung by Joan Manuel Serrat. Thus, under a canopy of garlands and with the light of fireworks in the background, the neighbors organize outdoor community dinners, reaching their peak at midnight from June 23 to 24. Fire and water play a central role in a ritual to purify and ward off evil spirits, whether it's with a midnight swim in the sea or with a bonfire in squares and streets. Afterwards, this ancestral celebration continues on the beaches and in the streets with traditional open-air parties, enlivened by bands and musical groups that keep the attendees dancing until the sun tells them it's day, in the best case scenario, or until the municipal cleaning crews make their presence known on beaches and parks, picking up all the waste generated on the shortest night of the year.
And, like all the celebrations in this country, the festival of San Juan also has a typical dessert: la coca, a pastry made of puff pastry and flour in different varieties with fruits, pine nuts, cream or whipped cream, which pairs very well with another typical Catalan product such as cava.
Whether it's with a nighttime swim at its various beaches, with neighborhood bonfires, or with popular street parties, Barcelona gathers all the ingredients to make this celebration a magical and rejuvenating experience. Are you going to miss it?
