Spain is famous worldwide for its
colorful and vibrant festivals that fill up its yearlong calendar. Almost every night a city or a small "pueblo" is alive with the people's cheers and the explosion of fireworks that lit up the sky. If it's not where you stay, the fiesta is definitely somewhere else across the Iberian region.
The festival of San Juan is among the most popular celebrations in Spain. The event takes place between June 20-24 and consists of a great party of music, dancing, fireworks, and the symbolic bonfires. Most of the rituals during the festivity of San Juan are said to be pagan in origin and most of which preceded the earliest
Christian celebrations in the country.
"La Noche de
San Juan" (the night of St. John), which takes place on June 23, the shortest night in the northern hemisphere symbolizes to triumph of light over darkness. The rituals held during this night are basically rooted on 3 elements: sun, fire, and water. According to ancient legend, the bonfires lit during this night can cleanse both the body and soul. They say that one can transform a bad year into a good one by jumping over the bonfire three times or more.
