Experience the San Juan festival in Catalonia this 2024

The shortest night of the year, the San Juan festival, is a night of fun with fire and cultural identity. Throughout Catalonia, following tradition, it is celebrated with the arrival of the Canigó Flame, carried by volunteers, which lights the bonfires of the cities, with street festivals, correfocs, concerts, among others.

The night of June 23, San Juan festival, is a magical night in which the summer solstice is celebrated, two days late. It is a celebration that the Catholic Church coincides with the date of birth of Saint John the Baptist and has turned it into a festival with very marked and symbolic elements and customs: the purifying fire, the midnight baths, the herbs of Saint John, the songs, dance or healing and more magical rituals.

The origin of the celebration of San Juan Night is pagan and is part of the group of solstice festivals, like Christmas. With a tradition that dates back to long before the implementation of Christianity, it is a cult of the sun, the lengthening of the day, for the summer solstice.

The most traditional food of this day is the coca de San Juan, which currently comes in many varieties: there are some with fruit, pine nuts, chicharrones and there are some filled with cream or cream. It is a derivation of the roscón with eggs that was eaten in the past, a large round piece with clear reminiscences of sun worship.

Experience the San Juan festival in Catalonia!