The History of Midsummer (St. John's Day) Explained

In this video, we take a look at the summer holiday known as "Midsummer", also called "St. John the Baptist's Day", which was once a holiday as popular as Christmas celebrated across Europe, and which remains popular in some areas today. We look at the customs and traditions, folklore elements, food, discuss why it so widely disappeared, where it didn't disappear, and more.

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The following music performed by Kevin Macleod Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Fairytale Waltz
Rites
Celtic Impulse
Master of the Feast
Teller of the Tales

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No. 3 Morning Folk Song
Forest Lullaby
The Two Seasons
Simple Gifts

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[marsukarhu]

Midsummer is well alive in Finland at least, it's the biggest holiday alongside Christmas. We go to the cottages by the lakes of by the sea and eat & drink, make flower wreaths, go to midsummer night's sauna and make a huge bonfire by the water (or on the water).
Then you put young birch trees by the doors to bring good luck and keep bad luck away and you do all kinds of midsummer's magic depending on what you want with it. Usually it has to do with future spouses like picking the 7 different flowers and putting them under the pillow to see your future mate in a dream, or making a flower wreaths with specific flowers for fertility, or rolling naked in a rye field and jump over 9 ditches to get a high quality husband, etc.
There are dozens of different magic spells and meanings like if you see a viper on a midsummer night your spouse will arrive from that direction or as many times as you hear the cuckoo, so many years until you find your spouse ... there are just SO many of these!

[lenjapita]

Here in Serbia, we have many spring and early summer celebrations (preslava). On Midsummer's Day (Ivanjdan), girls weave a wreath of flowers and garlic, this wreath is hung by the front door for good luck and health. On the eve of St. Peter's Day (Petrovdan), big fires are lit and lila or mace (a stick with dry bark of wild cherry) are made, before in the villages burning lilas were thrown over the cattle pens, today adults in every neighborhood make a bonfire and watch that the children do not set someone's car on fire.

[kevinpotts]

It's too bad we (in America) let this fade away. I was raised in Indiana and after i joined the Navy and saw how the rest of the world was, i learned that there was a paucity in community building and sustaining traditions in America.
I would sit in town squares in Italy, Spain and France and just feel amazed at how many people came there to visit one another and eat/drink dance and be merry. It made me sad to think i had missed out on that in my life.

[MicaelSG]

While listening to the narration about St. John's midsummer festival made me realize how important that festival is for us brazillians. We called them "festa junina" or june fest and we celebrate it by jumping bonfires, eating a lot and dancing. Funny enough, to us its a winter festival.

[thecurlyheaddude]

My family in Virginia reinvented a holiday by accident around this one called splash bash. We drink, camp around our lake, and jump over and dance around bonfires out in the woods.

[JonniePolyester]

That was an another excellent video! I’ve just got down from the shelf the excellent book The English Year by Steve Roud (Penguin Books 2006) which is ‘a month by month guide to the Nation’s
customs and festivals from Mayday to Mischief night’ . His section on St John’s The Baptist Day (24th June ) pp 297-307) which he describes as ‘ undoubtedly one of the high spots of the festival year in medieval times’ he writes: ‘ the modern idea that it was connected with fairies and sprites abroad is wrong’ and that is based solely on the literal reading of the title of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream which the text makes clear is May Day Eve’ which in European folklore is when the fairy & mortal worlds intermingle. However he does describe at length the love divination practices such as Dumb Cake ( p302 including the full procedure !) and ‘MidSummer Men’ where the plant Orpine ( Hylotelephium telephium) would be pinned in pairs on joists by maids to see as the plant wilted if their intended tilted toward or away.

Interestingly a description by John Stow in 1590’s describes the overwhelming urge to build bonfires in the crowded streets of London Town after sunset along with buffet feasting and doors & churches bedecked with boughs of birch & flowers. The bonfires were presumed to have a cleansing effect on the foul air which were suppressed like most things by the later Puritans., although bonfire lighting carried on for a long time after in the West Country

The collective mid summer festivities would continue up St Peter’s Eve 29 June including lots of urban processions inc the Tailors Guild in Salisbury which lasted up until the Reformation although its Processional Giant can still be seen in Salisbury Museum & stands 14 ft high … fascinating stuff! 😊👍

[susanlangley]

While I’m not familiar with “Christmas in July” in Canada, I see it where I am living in the US. However, it’s not a holiday; it’s for doing charitable works for people who might need help but sadly are often helped at Thanksgiving and at Christmas and then sort of forgotten until the next year. So, it’s a mid-year opportunity to assist others.

[rasmusn.e.m]

In Denmark, we don't celebrate St. John's Day, but we do celebrate the eve (the 23rd), just like we celebrate Christmas eve (24th) rather than Christmas day (25th). Ours includes the bonfire, however, that bonfire also includes a witch on it that is said to be on sent her merry way to the Brocken mountain in Northern Germany, but, personally, I've only ever seen her burnt down to a crisp while screaming her lungs out (we often add whistling fireworks to the bonfire).
When the fire is lit, we begin singing our traditional songs. It's not as huge as it is in Sweden, but it often comes close to the end of the school year, so it's sort of a stand-in for a last gathering before we go our separate holidaying ways.

[dexterdextrow]

yea, most of us still celebrate midsummer in Sweden, but for most it's not seen as having any association with St. john. We usually just see it as a general celebration of the harvest season. Also, as to traditions it's really just dancing around the midsummer pole that's ubicous, most other traditions and customs varies depending on how dedicated you are. Additionally we don't really do any bonfire stuff. As to foods you usually eat pickled herring, potatoes and vanilla ice-ream or normal cream with strawberries as desert.

[alfredwaldo]

Ah yes midsommar, the actual swedish national day.


Also don't worry it's not full of terrifying rituals. Everybodoy here is to drunk or busy dancing the frog dance to do it 😁

[WK-]

Great stuff as always. Historical/regional holidays are oddly interesting, maybe because the historians at the time didn't necessarily think to record something that happened every year (or were just too drunk to try).

[royarievilo]

In Brazil Saint John’s day it’s so fun, ppl eat a lot of country food and dress up like cowboys and a lot of dance, it’s basically a second Carnaval

[jucyd]

Christmas in July originated in Australia as July is their winter and so more appropriate to celebrate Xmas and large feasting. I have enjoyed this bonus celebration there.

[Farmer_El]

Thank you for another fine presentation.

[trejea]

While in Bolivia in 1988, there were bonfires and fireworks on St. John’s night. And my Lutheran church observes the feast of St. John during Divine Service.

[danfsteeple]

The Eastern Orthodox Church calls June 24th the Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist. This year it’s on a Friday which is usually a fast day. But because of the feast we’re allowed fish. No meat or dairy though

[thegnarledpirate]

As a Brazilian, who partakes in the festivities of Saint John's Day, I can confirm we do set people on fire and start moaning like baboons.

[mathieuleader]

I love learning about lesser known holidays

[cecileroy]

I saw a wonderful film about the Scandinavian celebration of Midsummer... The location was at the family's cottage by a lake. I loved everything about the way the day was celebrated. Kind of like having a family barbecue but with so much more meaning and beautiful traditions honoring nature!! Tension builds as the movie continues. The annual celebration would never be the same after that day.

[pumirya]

It’s always cool to learn about something new. Thank you for the video.