Surely you have heard of the Sant Joan festival, but you may not know how it is celebrated on our beautiful island. The feast of San Juan or Sant Joan is a very important date for the festive calendar of the Balearic Islands, where the birth of San Juan Bautista is celebrated on June 24. The most characteristic thing is the celebration of the eve, called Sant Joan night, on June 23, which begins at sunset and in some places lasts all night.
Both the Mallorcan people and the people of the other towns of the Balearic Islands celebrate a night full of magic in the company of the fire of the bonfires and a beautiful sharing, usually sweets and drinks typical of that night.
This date also coincides with the summer solstice, the longest day and the shortest night of the year, so it undoubtedly makes the Sant Joan festivities one of the most relevant of the year. A large number of people from Mallorca and other places attend to participate in the festivities that take place on June 23 and 24, such as horse exhibitions, fireworks of great beauty and admiration, dances in front of the sea and near the bonfires and other festive activities.
How is Sant Joan celebrated in a town on the island of Mallorca?
In Mallorca, specifically in Colonia de Sant Jordi, it is celebrated on the eve of Saint John’s Day as in many towns in Mallorca. This festival is characterized by a Correfoc de Cala Galiota, which is a light-filled show of moving pyrotechnic fires. They go through the streets with dragons or devils throwing fire and people give way to a tremendous explosion that is harmless, but it does not stop producing great admiration. Later at night, the fires in the sky and the bonfires on the seashore are the protagonists. Attendees gather to enjoy animation groups, fireworks and some even take the opportunity to perform a small ritual: write a wish on paper to be burned at midnight or go into the sea to bathe and toss a coin that accompanies your intention and desire.
The main protagonist of this night is the fire and the bonfires that are lit on the beach with a marked symbolism. This symbolism is linked to the belief that fire has a strong purifying power, hence the dance around bonfires and pagan rituals are performed to drive away evil spirits. Tradition says that if you burn a piece of paper at the stake with the bad things that have happened to you this year and jump up to three peaks above the fire, they will disappear!
Visit Mallorca and celebrate Sant Joan!
If you do not have plans for the summer, we invite you to visit Mallorca, a pyrotechnic paradise in the Balearic Islands where you can celebrate together with Majorcans and tourists from other places, from the eve of San Juan and with the arrival of the summer solstice, celebrations that are full of tradition, lots of light and good energy to start the summer.