New Civilization News: The magic night: Noche de San Juan    
 The magic night: Noche de San Juan17 comments
picture 24 Jun 2006 @ 17:40, by Silvia M.S

The night of 23 to 24 of June we celebrate in Spain la noche de San Juan (St John's night). It's the shortest and most special night of the year.


The fire becomes the king of the place, blazing in every corner of the country. Bonfires are started at 12am everwhere and the party goes on all night. Old and young people sing and dance around the bonfire, throwing to the flames their wishes written in a piece of paper.

Facing the bonfire, when you close your eyes and listen to the fire's crackle, it's like if you were back many many years in history to the pagans time, when the God of Sun was adored. This day is supposed to be in honour of Sain John the Baptist, but in reality it's an old pagan festival to celebrate the summer solstice and the power of the sun. It's the day when the sun shines in the sky longer, but also begins its journey to the winter solstice, that is a symbolic death. So in this day we celebrate life and death, light and darkness, what is to be born and what is to be left.

It's a night of magic and mistery, also called the witches's night. There are many legends from ancient times, saying that in this night Nature can show all its power, and the world of humans mixes with the world of Faerie. Conjurations and celtic rituals for love or money are made. Asturias, my region, is a land with celtic roots and celebrations like the San John's night are lived very intensely.

I was invited to my uncle's for dinner and we lit also our own bonfire in the garden. It was a lovely night, spent together with my family and my uncle's dog, who was scared most part of the time because of the fire. Here are some of the pictures of this night:










[< Back] [New Civilization News]

Category:  

17 comments

26 Jun 2006 @ 03:21 by jicoat : the fire!
Hi Sylvia

How wonderful for you and your family! It is great to be a small part of your world.
love, Jane

*******
Thank you Jane, I wish you could have been here that magic night, it was really wonderful! Hugs from Asturias :-)  



26 Jun 2006 @ 03:25 by judih : Looks like a powerful gathering
I look at you all wearing jackets around a bonfire and I marvel that you can stand in such a different climate. So close and yet so far.
Around here, it's still so hot even at night, i can only mentally transfer your ceremony to 2 months ago. And doing so, i can join your circle in camaraderie!

To life, Silvia

*******
Judih, it was powerful for sure, the energy there was very strong, I even practiced a bit of Tai Chi there in the garden while the fire was still blazing. Here we usually have pretty mild nights, even in summer. Not much cold in winter and not much heat in summer, perfect! Well, no perfect because we have too much rain... Anyway, thanks to the rain we have green landscapes, so we shouldn't complain :-)  



26 Jun 2006 @ 16:17 by scotty : Fabulous pics
seems like you all had a wonderful time !!

I love so much your sharing with us - thankyou Silvia !!

( I adore the second pic - it looks like the profile of a face with a bulbous nose and standy-up hair LOL )

******
That's cool!! I had realized about certain "faces" in the first photo, but not in the second! You're right, it looks like a face hehehe. The fire is really magic ;-)  



27 Jun 2006 @ 07:38 by jazzolog : Here's The Scene In Denmark
http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/pictures/sm_wallpaper/06407_101.jpg

Bornholm Island, Denmark, 1997

With the sky still aglow at 11 p.m. on Midsummer Eve, Danes build bonfires along the shore to burn effigies of witches, banishing evil spirits from the land. Singing songs and daring leaps across the dying embers completes the Midsummer Eve celebration, one of the country's most beloved traditions.

******
What a cool picture, I love it!! Another friend of mine in Denmark also told me that they celebrate the noche de San Juan almost in the same way as we do. And probably some other countries also do the same. It would be great to be able to see the Earth from outside that night, with all those little bonfires in different points of the planet :-)  



27 Jun 2006 @ 07:51 by jstarrs : It's important to maintain...
..some traditions, isn't it?
So much 'memory' is being lost.
Thanks, Silvia.

******
I like the traditions that we have here in Asturias and usually try to participate in as many as I can. It's a legacy from our ancestors, it cannot be sold or bought, just accepted as a gift to enjoy it :-)  



6 Jul 2006 @ 14:35 by Anabel @156.35.192.4 : me encanta
Yo tambien pase la noche con mi familia disfrutando de la magica noche de San Juan. Me han gustado mucho tus fotos del fuego, realmente preciosas, sobre todo la segunda.

******
Gracias Anabel. Para entender realmente cómo es la noche de San Juan hay que vivirla, me alegro que tú también lo hayas hecho :-)  



23 Jul 2006 @ 19:24 by koravya : Thanks
for the Great Story and Pictures.
**--
Wishes to the Flames.
Smoke to the Sky.
Falls again as raindrops,
Into your garden of dreams,
and all you need to do,
to make those dreams come true.
**-_-**
John

******
Thank you for your comment, John. And for the nice little poem as well. It would had been wonderful to recite it around the fire that magic night.  



11 Oct 2007 @ 20:33 by Cindii @206.169.65.43 : Yay!
Thanks. You just saved me a ton of research I needed to do on my project for school. =)  


23 Apr 2008 @ 02:06 by ASDFGHJKL @70.131.65.105 : Cool
I like the warmth of Fires  


23 Apr 2008 @ 02:08 by ASDFGHJKL @70.131.65.105 : Cool
I like the warmth of Fires and i need help on a project for Puerto Rico  


23 Jun 2008 @ 15:52 by Valentina @79.153.238.140 : Report
Hola! he utilizado una pate de tu entrada por describir lo que es la noche de S. Juan en Espana...he dicho tambien que es de tu blog, y he puesto el enlace, si te molesta dimelo y lo quito!
Hasta luego!  



29 Jan 2015 @ 09:34 by Pamella @177.69.30.105 : OWOppSoAZfRVTNnwfmIa
LouisEric, What it tells me is that the voters in this poll agree that the '70s were a godeln age for sitcoms and that we are living in a godeln age for drama. Look at how many sitcoms are in your '70s grid could you argue with any of them? I couldn't. Next, check out the current dramas. While we all have shows we think should have made it (I think Newhart was as good if not better than The Bob Newhart Show) this is a pretty solid list. I'm one of those people who consider Moonlighting more comedy than drama but it had to be there. A couple of anal points: Lonesome Dove aired in 1989, not in the 2000s, and Mad Men already aired three seasons in that decade (and already had the fanatical following it does today).  


29 Jan 2015 @ 14:21 by Rossenver @197.249.75.216 : qGKVZJChEPVswfog
I knew I'd probably get some dedceas wrong I just fixed those. Thanks Louis!Yeah, it really seems heavy on current/recent dramas, to me. Not that I can make a case that other shows should be on there instead This was a survey of current WGA members, highly subjective, of course, and I think they were asked to suggest up to 20 titles. I don't think they were given a list to choose from and remember certain titles from the past.  


30 Jan 2015 @ 07:32 by Alma @78.20.226.84 : rYIAilaYTmaZgb
Lovely rabbit!! I too used to woendr how people could create something just by folding a piece of paper. As I have practiced it, I find that origami is a bit like music or like painting. We learn the basics notes or color combinations, and little by little we start to add "vocabulary" until one day we are able to do something on our own.  


5 Mar 2015 @ 09:28 by computersforfutures @182.186.141.77 : Must say that overall I am really impres
Must say that overall I am really impressed with this blog. It is easy to see that you are passionate about your writing. If only I had your writing ability I look forward to more updates and will be returning.  


9 Mar 2015 @ 06:05 by travelersrvreno @182.186.221.151 : I surprised with the analysis you made t
I surprised with the analysis you made to make this particular publish incredible. Wonderful activity!   


30 Mar 2015 @ 06:07 by mccfitnessstems @39.36.33.187 : I am very happy to find this site. I wan
I am very happy to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this immense read!! I absolutely enjoying every petite bit of it and I have you bookmarked to test out new substance you post. -  


Your Name:
Your URL: (or email)
Subject:       
Comment:
For verification, please type the word you see on the left:


Other entries in
1 Jul 2010 @ 22:02: The Utter Uselessness of Sports and the Purpose of Life
26 Jun 2010 @ 20:45: A game has 90 minutes, ehh, or 120, plus overtime...
6 Jan 2009 @ 06:58: GAMES POSTULATES
11 Dec 2008 @ 06:48: Divinity Rising: My (bra) cup runneth over...
11 Dec 2008 @ 01:14: Strong with the force, that one is...
7 Dec 2008 @ 16:23: An Open Letter to Enlil and Enki ("Sermon of the Holy Rock")
16 Jan 2008 @ 11:00: What Are You Like?
22 Nov 2007 @ 19:01: The purpose of the white rabbit...
30 Jul 2007 @ 14:52: The REAL purpose for the creation of pets
25 Apr 2007 @ 18:05: Git ve gör! Çok geç olmadan



[< Back] [New Civilization News] [PermaLink]?