Saint John's Eve Bonfires
24 June 2026 — Leap over the flame – summer arrives with starry sparks!
The Saint John's bonfires (in French, Feux de la Saint-Jean) are lit on the eve, the evening of 23 June, before the day the church calendar marks the birth of John the Baptist. The date falls close to the summer solstice (around 21 June), so the festival carries traces of much older customs welcoming summer. In many French villages a large pile of wood is built in the square and lit in the evening, often by a local resident or the mayor. People sing and dance around the fire, and in some places the bold jump over the dying flames, which was believed to bring health and good fortune. Shared meals often follow. On one of the shortest nights of the year, the light on the ground seems to answer the light of the stars. Similar fires are known across Europe; in Bulgaria the related festival is Enyovden, when herbs are gathered and summer is welcomed.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure made of luminous dots and fine lines, like a constellation: a graceful bonfire whose sparks drift upward and turn into small stars
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