{"id":25807,"date":"2026-06-24T05:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/how-europe-celebrates-the-longest-day-of-the-year\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T05:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T23:45:42","slug":"how-europe-celebrates-the-longest-day-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/how-europe-celebrates-the-longest-day-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"How Europe celebrates the longest day of the year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_AKz7lTzbJ0a?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.2.3\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(The Conversation) \u2014 Whether cities or villages, many communities across Europe spend the day and night of June 24 celebrating Midsummer. Congregating around bonfires, or sometimes maypoles, sporting handwoven wreaths of wildflowers or oak leaves, they\u2019ll sing, jump, dance, eat, drink, catch up and celebrate the arrival of the longest day of the year. As <a href=\"https:\/\/gns.wisc.edu\/staff\/dubois-thomas-a\/\">a scholar of folklore<\/a>, I have been to Midsummer celebrations in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania, and I am endlessly in awe of people\u2019s fervent commitment to the holiday and evident enjoyment of it.<\/p>\n<p>From the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and from France to Poland and beyond, Midsummer goes by many names, including the Italian \u201cFesta di San Giovanni Battista\u201d and the Swedish \u201cMidsommar.\u201d It\u2019s \u201cLeedop\u00e4ev\u201d in Estonia, \u201cJuhannus\u201d in Finland, and \u201cMihcam\u00e1rat\u201d for the Sami, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/scandinavia-has-its-own-dark-history-of-assimilating-indigenous-people-and-churches-played-a-role-but-are-apologizing-255827\">the Indigenous people of Scandinavia<\/a>. Celebrations mark the summer solstice, which takes place in the Northern Hemisphere around June 21.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/742275\/original\/file-20260616-57-9c4k77.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C1024%2C682&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"A large group of people holding hands dances in a circle outside around a large pole wound with greenery.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">People gather for the traditional Midsummer celebrations in Gagnef, Sweden, on June 20, 2025.<\/span><br \/><span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/people-gather-for-the-traditional-midsummer-celebrations-in-news-photo\/2220494867?adppopup=true\">Ulf Palm\/TT News Agency\/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Each morning from the time of the winter solstice to the summer solstice, the sun rises a little farther to the north. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, shadows grow shorter and days grow longer. At <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-is-the-summer-solstice-an-astronomer-explains-98270\">the summer solstice<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/solstice\">the Sun \u201cstands still<\/a>\u201d \u2013 the meaning of the Latin solstice \u2013 and begins its progression back toward the south. Days shorten, shadows lengthen, and the cold and dreariness of winter return.<\/p>\n<p>Europeans across the entire continent have noted this simple and inexorable cycle for millennia. Neolithic monuments such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newgrange.com\/\">Ireland\u2019s Newgrange<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stonehengeandaveburywhs.org\/\">England\u2019s Stonehenge<\/a>, both of which date from around 5,000 years ago, were built to mark solstices.<\/p>\n<h2>Lighting the bonfire<\/h2>\n<p>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firenzemadeintuscany.com\/en\/article\/san-giovanni-firenze-events-fochi-programme-complete\/\">the Mediterranean<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/uwpress.wisc.edu\/Books\/F\/Folklore-in-the-Nordic-World\">to the northern peripheries of Europe<\/a>, the summer solstice has long been greeted as a time for rituals to gather luck, tell the future and ward off evil.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iamexpat.de\/expat-info\/germany-news\/what-significance-johannistag-germany\">In Germany<\/a>, northeastern France and many parts of Scandinavia <a href=\"https:\/\/lithuania.travel\/en\/where-to-visit\/seasonal-highlights\/summer\/midsummer-in-lithuania\">and the Baltic<\/a>, people still build elaborate bonfire pyres to light in the evening and tend long into the night. According to folk belief, stepping or leaping over the flames brings love and fertility, while the height of the flames predicts the coming year\u2019s harvest.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/742278\/original\/file-20260616-57-pmfav6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"Two women, one of whom is wearing a traditional red dress, hold hands as they leap over a small flame outside.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Ukrainians jump over fire during a celebration of Kupala Night, a Slavic midsummer festival, in Warsaw, Poland, on June 21, 2025.<\/span><br \/><span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ap.org\/detail\/PolandUkraine-Midsummer-Festival\/64927a55cda5416caa998c189cfb079c\/photo?vs=false&amp;displayquery=midsummer&amp;currentItemNo=8&amp;startingItemNo=0&amp;sourceLocation=Search\">AP Photo\/Czarek Sokolowski<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Traditionally, many Europeans gathered dew, herbs or leaves on Midsummer eve, which was reputed to <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2017\/06\/21\/five-of-the-best-summer-solstice-superstitions-6725255\/\">ensure health, beauty and good fortune<\/a>. Some brought their cattle close to bonfires to breathe in the smoke, or scattered fields with ashes the next day. Although people today generally regard these beliefs as quaint reminders of the past, often they avidly participate, just in case \u2013 tying them to forebears centuries or even millennia ago.<\/p>\n<h2>Pagan, Christian and secular<\/h2>\n<p>Many of the names for the holiday, such as the Danish \u201cSankt Hans Aften\u201d or Icelandic \u201cJ\u00f3nsmessun\u00f3tt,\u201d are connected with John the Baptist, the Christian saint whose birthday is celebrated June 24. Where Jesus\u2019 birth is commemorated around the time of the winter solstice, the Bible describes his cousin St. John <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%201%3A36&amp;version=NIV\">being born<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke%201%3A56&amp;version=NIV\">precisely six months earlier<\/a>, at the height of summer. The interest in this connection between Jesus and John explains why the holiday takes place on June 24 \u2013 or in some countries, on the nearest Saturday \u2013 rather than on the actual solstice.<\/p>\n<p>Medieval Christian authorities did not always relish <a href=\"https:\/\/frenchmoments.eu\/feast-of-saint-john-in-france\/\">the \u201cpagan\u201d celebrations of the day<\/a> and occasionally decried peasants\u2019 dancing, singing and other customs. During the 16th century\u2019s Protestant Reformation, celebrations of Catholic saints\u2019 feast days were suppressed, but Midsummer lived on as a secular holiday.<\/p>\n<p>In places where Protestants and Catholics overlapped, such as the Netherlands, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12231-025-09648-y\">celebrating St. John\u2019s eve<\/a> became an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sintjandenbosch.nl\/\">emblem of Catholic identity<\/a>. The Feast of St. John is celebrated as <a href=\"https:\/\/pacmusee.qc.ca\/en\/stories-of-montreal\/article\/the-origin-of-saint-jean-baptiste-day\/\">the \u201cf\u00eate nationale<\/a>\u201d of the Canadian province of Qu\u00e9bec in part to differentiate the province from the culture of its English Protestant neighbors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/742281\/original\/file-20260616-57-hjzbjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"A scene of pairs of men and women dancing in a grassy area outside a wooden cabin.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Swedish painter Anders Zorn completed \u2018Midsommardans\u2019 in 1897.<\/span><br \/><span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Midsommardans.jpg\">National Museum of Sweden via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>One of the most iconic images of Swedish celebrations of the day, <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Midsommardans.jpg\">Anders Zorn\u2019s 1897 painting \u201cMidsommardans<\/a>,\u201d or \u201cMidsummer Dance,\u201d reflects 19th-century <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/arts7010002\">anxiety that beloved traditions would disappear<\/a>. Zorn himself paid for the erection of the maypole depicted in his painting, seeking to preserve the picturesque custom in the region of rural Sweden where he lived.<\/p>\n<p>Yet Zorn\u2019s fears were unfounded. Much has changed, but Europeans remain appreciative of the simple and unchanging rhythms of the natural world, including the coming and passing of the season\u2019s longest day.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Thomas A. DuBois, Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/285196\/count.gif\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/23\/bonfires-maypoles-and-a-saints-day-how-europe-celebrates-the-longest-day-of-the-year\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(The Conversation) \u2014 Whether cities or villages, many communities across Europe spend the day and night of June 24 celebrating Midsummer. Congregating around bonfires, or sometimes maypoles, sporting handwoven wreaths of wildflowers or oak leaves, they\u2019ll sing, jump, dance, eat, drink, catch up and celebrate the arrival of the longest day of the year. As [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}