LEISURE

SANT JOAN - A NIGHT OF WITCHES, FIRE AND CELEBRATIONS ON PALMA BEACH

Although fine weather, warm temperatures and the first outdoor swims of the year come to Mallorca with spring and particularly after Easter, there’s one event that officially ushers in the summer season on our island: 23rd June, the Eve of the Feast of Sant Joan (St. John) that marks the summer solstice.

The Nit de Sant Joan (Midsummer’s Night) is one of the most magical nights of the year in Mallorca, besides being the shortest. And, along with the Feast of Sant Sebastià, it’s the celebration that brings the biggest crowd onto the city streets and, in this case, the beaches too. Our hotel on Palma Beach is privileged to be right where the action is. Now you’ll understand why.
24th June is the actual Feast Day but, as with every well-known folk festival in Mallorca, most of the recreational activities take place the night before. We Mallorcans go to dine with our loved ones beside the Mediterranean or next to small bonfires, and local councils organize open-air concerts and shows.
Virtually all Mallorca’s beaches and coves are thronged from evening until past dawn. In fact, one of our longest-standing Midsummer traditions is to take a saltwater dip in the sea at midnight. Legend has it that this ritual helps keep our bodies healthy.
Other folk tales surrounding the Nit de Sant Joan are woven around the theme of fire. This explains why Midsummer’s Night is also known in Mallorca as the Nit de les Bruixes (Witching Night) and the Nit del Foc (Night of Fire). These names are believed to have come down to us from pre-Christian pagan rituals. Fire and flames are used to scare away unfriendly dark beings who visit us every Midsummer’s Night. It’s also said that if you write a wish on a piece of paper and set light to it at precisely 12 midnight, it will come true.
It seems there’s no limit to what’s possible on the Nit de Sant Joan. We don’t know whether all your wishes will come true, but we can help you fulfil one of them: if you want to find the ideal hotel in Mallorca for welcoming the summer in, you’ve found it. Book your stay now at the Aya Hotel, the family hotel on Palma Beach.