Jan's Day is the second most important holiday in Estonia after Christmas. It is celebrated on June 23 and is considered the day of witchcraft and miracles. And the analogue of this ancient holiday, which has come down to modern times from pagan times, is the Russian day of Ivan Kupala.
John's Day was an official holiday in Estonia until 1770. Then, on the eve of the holiday, not far from reservoirs and rivers, bonfires were kindled, songs and dances were arranged. And the bravest ones went to the forest to find a fern flower, which, according to legend, blooms only on this night. Great happiness and wealth awaited the finder. On Jaan's day, the girls wove a wreath of nine different flowers and went to sleep in it, since in a dream the groom was supposed to come to her and remove the wreath from her head.
The main symbol of this holiday is a bonfire, because fire has been considered a strong and cleansing element since ancient times, capable of protecting against evil forces. The peasants tried to make the fire as high as possible so that everything dirty and obsolete would burn out in it, and all the villagers participated in its preparation.
However, the abolition of Jaan's Day did not affect the attitude of the Estonian people towards him, and since 1990 it has again become an official holiday. Today, even the authorities of the cities of this country are trying to facilitate its organization and implementation. On the night of Jaanov day, in every district of the city, large bonfires are still lit near the water, dances are arranged and songs are sung.
Hundreds of townspeople come together to have fun, dance, take part in draws and drink beer, which, by the way, is the traditional drink of this holiday. The city's beer companies have long begun to conduct advertising campaigns timed to coincide with the holiday. And the next day, local newspapers publish data on the size of the fire, the number of guests and the number of drinks drunk in local newspapers.
But it is not customary for the Estonian people to swim in a river or pond on Jaanov Day. But they love to go to the sauna on this holiday and even prepare brooms for such an event in advance. According to their ancient legends, a broom prepared before the holiday has healing power throughout the year.
