Sant Joan’s Eve and the summer solstice

Although 21 June marks the arrival of the summer solstice, which used to be a pagan festival, nowadays, ever since Christianity took hold, we don’t celebrate it until the night of the 23rd, the Verbena de Sant Joan (Saint John’s Eve). During the festival, bonfires are built out of old furniture and junk, and once the sun has gone down they’re set alight as a symbol of purification.

Every neighbourhood in Barcelona celebrates it in its own way, but the beach is where many young people choose to go to enjoy the fireworks that light up Barcelona’s coastline every year, and to wait for the sunrise on the sand.

On the one hand, it’s a joyful celebration; on the other, the days start getting shorter.

The essential companions to the festivities are the traditional coca (a flat, sweet pastry) and cava. There are several kinds of coca, the most common being the one with fruit and pine nuts, or the one with ‘llardons’ (pork crackling).

Happy Sant Joan’s Eve!

And may the fire be with you!