On June 24 the feast of San Juan is celebrated . A festival that is also known as the Verbena de San Juan or Noche de San Juan since the night of June 23-24 is when this party is celebrated in style. A celebration that for many people means the beginning of summer or holidays, we can also say that it is a magical night full of mystery. Let us now know the best rites and rituals to celebrate the night of San Juan.
Rites and rituals to celebrate the night of San Juan
The communities of Catalonia and the Valencian Community are those that will celebrate San Juan’s day on June 24 as a holiday , so that the night of 23 to 24 will once again live the traditional festivals that last year were suspended due to the Coronavirus.
Among the rites or rituals to celebrate the night of San Juan are jumping a bonfire (as a rite of good luck), burning old books (especially students who finish the course) or bathing in the sea (as a rite of purification) . All of them are usually done on the beaches, but this year there will be some restrictions when celebrating the festivals both in Catalonia and in Valencia, so that many will be the people who will celebrate tonight privately , while others (in all of Spain) will be reserved to perform a rite that somehow allows us to take advantage of the magic of the night that coincides with the arrival of summer and also, the birth of Saint John the Baptist.
Let’s see then below, some rites and rituals that you can celebrate on the night of June 23.
Bunch of San Juan
A rite or ritual that is very traditional in San Juan consists of the collection of new herbs. The cluster of San Juan (some say it must be composed of 7 different herbs, others 9) drives away the evil eye, brings good luck and, put under the pillow at night, brings premonitory dreams .
Our bunch must have Hypericum (or St. John’s wort) against the evil eye, artemisia for fertility, rauda, mint, rosemary, parsley, garlic and lavender.
Drink the dew
The dew that covers the meadows on the night of the summer solstice or of San Juan gives nature a new flowering, and has the capacity for purification and amendment. Walking or lying in the field first thing in the morning, or rather picking it up (with a cloth passed on the grass and then squeezing it) and then drinking it, drives away the evil eye and promotes fertility. Even the water from a basin with St. John’s herbs or lavender, left on the windowsill on the night of the 23rd , purifies and brings good luck.
The rite of the egg
It is said that women who wish to marry will be able to see the shape of their husband on the morning of San Juan if they look at a well, but there is also the belief that if you break an egg (better a white hen) and pour the albumen in a glass of water , and you leave it in the window on the night of San Juan, in the morning, the shape composed by the egg will reveal information about the future husband.
Fern in pockets
Another rite is to place in the pocket, a fern leaf collected on the night of San Juan since it will bring us luck and money. It is also said that at night the fern drops its seed, and whoever finds it will find a treasure.
