Celebrating La Revetlla: Saint John’s Eve

The history of Barcelona’s biggest all-night party goes back centuries. La Verbena de Sant Juan as it’s called in Spanish, or La Revetlla de Sant Joan in Catalan, is the annual celebration of the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. While the solstice itself usually occurs a few days earlier, La Revetlla de Sant Joan is always celebrated on the night of June 23rd. 

The actual feast day of Saint John is the 24th of June, so the festivities are held on Sant John’s Eve. Saint John the Baptist, known as Sant Joan in Catalan, is the patron saint of Catalunya, making this feast day particularly important throughout the region. 

History

As with many other important celebrations in the calendar, the Catholic Church integrated a pre-existing pagan holiday, Midsummer’s Eve, into the calendar of official Church celebrations. It combined the celebration of the summer solstice with eve of the birthday of Saint John the Baptist: Jesus of Nazareth’s cousin, who got his moniker from having baptized Jesus in the River Jordan. Saint John was famously beheaded by King Herodias, supposedly at the request of his stepdaughter, Salome, because the itinerant holy man disapproved of the King’s marriage to her mother. There are various heads—each supposedly the authentic skull of the saint—enshrined in multiple sites all over the world, from Palestine to France to Bulgaria.

Songs, dances and other ancient rituals (many with pagan roots) all play a part in the Saint John’s Eve celebrations. According to medieval tradition, on this particular night people would make three fires to ward off evil spirits on this potent night of transition: one of bones, called a bonfire; one of wood, called a wakefire and one of wood and bones, called Saint John’s Fire. The origin of this fiery tradition is disputed, but some legends say that they are symbols of Saint John as the one who metaphorically lit the way for the coming of Jesus with his preaching of the coming of a savior. 

La Nit de Foc: The Night of Fire

The association of Sant Joan celebrations with fire is so strong that the night is often referred to as the nit del foc, or night of fire in Catalan. Fireworks light up the skies all over the city, and the sight and sound of firecrackers—especially the very small and equally loud poppers known as petards—is constant. Temporary fireworks shops and stands spring up in nearly every neighborhood and do a brisk business in the days leading up to the festivities. The flash and noise of the firecrackers is supposedly to ward off witches, demons and evil spirits, though most neighborhood kids just enjoy the opportunity to make tons of noise with impunity.

In fact, if you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of accidentally ending up in the emergency room for unrelated reasons on the night of Sant Joan, you’ll have witnessed the chaotic scene of dozens of people, mostly young men and boys, being treated for burn injuries both major and minor as the fireworks continue to flash outside the windows.

The night’s pyrotechnics aren’t limited to fireworks; the bonfires that have been an integral part of the Sant Joan celebrations since the Middle Ages continue to be an important element in modern celebrations. The fires that are traditionally lit on the city’s beaches and in certain town squares are supposed to burn away the problems and fears of the past, bringing new life, renewal and purification. Intrepid young men attempt to leap over the flames. Many write down troubles they want to leave behind on a piece of paper and throw it into the fire on the night of Sant Joan, hoping to symbolically burn them away.

Another fiery tradition meant to scare away evil spirits and their ilk is that of the correfocs, literally “fire runs,” which are processions of the local diables (devils) wielding staffs shooting sparks, accompanied by dracs (dragons) breathing fire, and groups of a dozen or more percussionists from the local neighborhood associations. These parades, which always take place after sundown, are a wild and impressive spectacle.

Other Traditions: Water and Herbs, Renewal and Protection

Another important ritual on the night of Sant Joan involves bathing in water as a symbol of healing. More specifically and especially in the coastal parts of Catalunya, this means bathing in the sea, often at midnight. Other water-related superstitions abound, including bathing one’s face in dew gathered from the grass on the night of Sant Joan as a way to remain young and healthy.

Special herbs are also picked to be included in the Sant Joan celebrations, with the belief that their healing properties are magnified on this specific night. The herbs vary according to region, but often include rosemary, fennel, lemon verbena, elderflowers, foxglove, mallow, rue, laburnum, goatsbeard, masterwort and (appropriately) Saint John’s wort, which was traditionally hung over doors and windows to keep demons and witches away. Sometimes these herbs are fashioned into a cross and taken to a Christian priest for blessing before being hung in the house as a symbol of protection. 

On this night, disputes between family members, friends or neighbors are customarily reconciled and wrongs forgiven. 

La Coca de Sant Joan

While the celebratory dinner can take many forms, the coca de Sant Joan is a symbol of the celebrations and an obligatory item on the menu. A coca is a kind of flat bread, in this case, a sweet flat bread containing anise. The most typical version of the coca eaten on this night is covered with red, green and orange candied fruits and bits of hard white sugar, though you can also find variations with cream, pine nuts, chocolate, crackling and other toppings. These confections can be seen in every bakery window in Catalunya in the days leading up to the Sant Joan festivities. According to noted Catalan chef Ignasi Domènech, the coca must be twice as long as it is wide for it to be authentic. Whatever kind of coca you consume, it’s usually accompanied by copious amounts of cava.

If you’re looking to buy a small coca, you’ll be able to find one at the last minute, but if you’re looking to bring a large one to a party, you should definitely order it from a local shop several days in advance.

Local Traditions: Barcelona

On the afternoon of June 23rd, a torch known as the Canigó flame is brought down from the mountain of the same name to various Catalan cites. This fire is kept burning all year long at a castle at Perpignan, France.

In Barcelona, the flame is welcomed at Plaça Sant Jaume with much fanfare by representatives of the local government, as well as several of the city’s gegants (giants) and the àliga de la ciutat (the city eagle, a symbol of Barcelona). A representative of each city district carries away a little of the flame to light a bonfire in his or her respective part of Barcelona. This tradition has been going on around Catalunya since 1966, and the flame has come to Barcelona every year since sometime in the 1970s. 

After this formal ritual, the sun goes down and the fun truly begins. Local restaurants, especially those located on or near the beach, usually offer a special fixed menu for the night, just like on New Year’s Eve or any other major celebration.

The wildest parties happen on the beaches, especially on the beach of Barceloneta, where people drink, dance and party until the sun comes up. When I moved to Barcelona, I arrived less than a week before Sant Joan. With the help of a few new local friends, I ended up swimming in the Mediterranean in all of my clothes at midnight, drying off by the light of a bonfire with a can of Estrella in my hand, and walking home around 7:00 in the morning.  

If all-night revelry isn’t your style, any dinner or party celebrating Sant Joan is still technically a revetlla. If possible, celebrate on a rooftop terrace or balcony with views of the fireworks.

The 24th is an official holiday in all of Catalunya, allowing revelers time to recover from the mayhem of the previous night.

Saint John’s Eve Around the Globe

While Sant Joan is a party that many Catalans see as uniquely their own, many other cultures celebrate Saint John’s Eve to mark the start of summer. The summer solstice tradition is important in other parts of the world, from Puerto Rico to Hungary, and from Portugal to the Shetland Islands. Most of these rituals also include elements of fire, water, herbs and honoring nature.

For example, in Scandinavia, traditions include a midsummer pole, similar to a maypole in the United States. It is wound around with ribbons and streamers by dancers who often wear wreaths of flowers on their heads and partake of special foods, such as new potatoes with sour cream and chives.

In Ireland, the name for the celebration on the night of June 23rd is Tine Cnámh (it literally translates as “bone fire”) and includes dancing, singing, eating and drinking around a fire, traditionally lit by the oldest member of the community present and into which the youngest person present throws a bone.

Saint John was known as the patron saint of stonemasons during the Middle Ages in Europe; as a result, this holiday is an important date in the calendar for many European and British Masonic lodges. 

It’s also a date celebrated in New Orleans, thanks to the importance of the solstice in voodoo culture. The infamous voodoo priestess Marie Laveau was said to perform rituals on this night at the Bayou St. John.