Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. It is one of only two feast days marking a saint's earthly birth (the other being the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September); all other saint’s days mark their deaths (dies natalis, their “birth” into Heaven), or some other important event. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; thus, the feast of John the Baptist’s birth was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John's Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions are similar to those of May Day, and include bonfires (Saint John's fires), feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants.
History
thumb|St John the Baptist by [[Titian]]
thumb|17th century A.D. Saint John's Eve festivities at the [[Piazza della Signoria.]]
thumb|People prepare for a Saint John's Day procession and church service in the comune of [[Esino Lario, Italy.]]
Saint John's Day, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, was established by the undivided Christian Church in the 4th century A.D., in honour of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, which the Christian Bible records as being six months before Jesus. As the Western Christian churches mark the birth of Jesus on 25 December (Christmas), the feast marking the birth of Saint John (Saint John's Day) was set six months before.
In the ancient Roman world, 24 June was the traditional date of the summer solstice and 25 December the date of the winter solstice, both of which were marked by festivals.
Within Christian theology, John the Baptist "was understood to be preparing the way for Jesus", with stating "He must increase, but I must decrease"; this is symbolized in the fact that the sun's height in the sky and length of the day "begins to diminish" after the summer solstice and begins to increase after the winter solstice. By the 6th century A.D., several churches were dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and a vigil, Saint John's Eve, was added to the feast day. Christian priests held three Masses for the celebration.
The historian Ronald Hutton states that the "lighting of festive fires upon St. John's Eve is first recorded as a popular custom by Jean Belethus, a theologian at the University of Paris, in the early twelfth century", but is undoubtedly much older. In England, the earliest reference to this custom occurs on in the 13th century A.D., in the Liber Memorandum of the parish church at Barnwell in the Nene Valley, which stated that parish youth would gather on the day to light fires, sing songs and play games. Bonfires (commonly called Saint John's Fires in various languages) were lit in honour of St. John on Saint John's Eve and Saint John's Day, and served to repel witches and evil spirits. A Christian interpretation of carrying lighted torches on St John's Eve is that they are "an emblem of St. John the Baptist, who was 'a burning and shining light,' and the preparer of the way of Christ". These traditions are very similar to those of May Day.
Saint John's Day is also a popular day for infant baptisms and in the 19th century, "baptisms of children who had died 'pagans' were acted out". In Sweden, young people visited holy springs as "a reminder of how John the Baptist baptised Christ in the River Jordan." On Saint John's Eve in Switzerland, goatsbeard and masterwort were fashioned into a cross and then were taken to one's local church, where they were blessed by a Christian priest.
Today, common Saint John's Eve and Saint John's Day traditions include processions, church services, Saint John's bonfires, fireworks, and feasting.
Night on Bald Mountain
Modest Mussorgsky's composition Night on Bald Mountain was originally titled St. John’s Night on the Bare Mountain, based on the story "St. John's Eve" by Nikolai Gogol. The first version appeared in 1867 and was revised around 1872 and again in 1880. In this last version he added a hauntingly beautiful quiet ending; in which a church bell announces the dawn, and daybreak chases away the evil spirit. Night on Bald Mountain is in the soundtrack of Walt Disney’s movie Fantasia.
By country
Brazil
thumb|[[Festa Junina|Saint John Festival in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.]]
Festas Juninas (June Festivals, "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as festas de São João, are the annual Brazilian celebrations adapted from European Midsummer that take place in the southern midwinter. These festivities, which were introduced by the Portuguese during the colonial period (1500–1822), are celebrated during the month of June nationwide. The festival is mainly celebrated on the eves of the Catholic solemnities of Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Peter. In many cities in the interior of the country these festivals attract millions of tourists and have a significant impact in the local economy.
Canada
In Quebec, Canada, the celebration of St John's Day was brought to New France by the first French colonists. Great fires were lit at night. According to the Jesuit Relations, the first celebrations of St John's Day in New France took place around 1638 on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River on the evening of June 23, 1636 with a bonfire and five cannon shots. In 1908, Pope Pius X designated John the Baptist as the patron saint of the French-Canadians.
Croatia
Croats celebrate , also called or in West Herzegovina and coastal Croatia, is celebrated on June 23 in Croatia. People light large bonfires in honor of Saint John Baptist; the celebration can also be connected to the old Slavic traditions for Kresnik (South Slavic version of Perun), the god of Sun. The locals bring firewood to a designated place and light a bonfire at sunset; young people attempt to jump over as it burns. Rivalries between villages on who makes the bigger bonfire is common, leading to competitions between village folk.
Denmark
thumb|right|[[Midsummer Eve Bonfire on Skagen Beach (1906), an artistic depiction of the traditional Danish bonfire.]]
Saint John's Eve (Sankthansaften) is celebrated in the same manner in Denmark as the Walpurgis Night is in Sweden. At dusk large bonfires are lit all over the country, typically accompanied by communal singing of Midsommervisen by Holger Drachmann. Atop each bonfire often an effigy of a witch is placed (harking back to the days of witch trials, when real women were burned at the stake).
Traditionally, the bonfires were lit to fend off witches, but today - when the witch effigy catches fire - she is said to be "flying away to Brocken" (Danish: "Bloksbjerg"), which can be interpreted as helping the witch on her way. On Saint John's Eve and Saint John's Day, churches arrange Saint John's services and family reunions also occur, which are an occasion for drinking and eating.
England
thumb|The Feast of Saint John, by [[Jules Breton (1875).]]
The feast of St. John the Baptist is one of the quarter days in England. A Christian monk of Lilleshall Abbey, in the 15th century, wrote: