The night of Sant Joan in Javea

The calendar of the Roman Empire continues to mark the Mediterranean peoples, as we can see on 23rd June. This night, the night of Sant Joan is popularly known as the shortest night of the year, although it is actually the night of the summer solstice, days before. In any case, this date continues to harbour that pagan mysticism covered by the traditional Christian saint's day, to welcome the summer, and in Jávea, it is full of magic...

As an established festival, Les Fogueres de Sant Joan is 73 years old. Before its establishment in the town, at the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Jávea already had a vocation for fire and song; groups of young people gathered around a bonfire to invoke the good spirits, although two hundred years earlier, the town was already preparing for the summer harvest around the hermitage of Sant Joan with various festivities. Nowadays, these are the town's main festivities and consist of two weeks full of events, cultural acts, concerts, parades... but the eve of Sant Joan is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited day, full of ancestral beauty. The coveted Clematis Flammula -Gessamí de Sant Joan or Vidriella- a plant that, due to its aesthetic and aromatic character, becomes the crown made by the locals. With these flowery garlands on their heads, some more exaggerated than others, people jump over the fires that have been prepared in various corners of the old wall of Jávea, while they hand out the toasted beans that will have to be kept in their hands or pockets to bring them luck for the rest of the year.

There are no Valencian celebrations without good music. For those of Sant Joan, we have the pasodoble "Fogueres", a hymn composed by the maestro Gonzalo Ortolá which is a paradigm of the Spanish music of the time with lyrics by Vicente Mengual. Everyone sings this pasodoble at the last bonfire, that of the "Trastos vells”. At the same time, they throw their crowns into the fire to make way for what is to come, leaving behind the old.

Afterwards, if you obey tradition, you will go to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea to get your feet wet and wish the gods good things. Still, you can also enjoy the impressive "Correfocs" in the streets of the Old Town with the final spectacle in the Plaza de la Constitución Española.

Jávea's "La Nit dels Focs" is a Fiesta of Tourist Interest by the Generalitat Valenciana, due to its idiosyncrasy, repercussion and tradition.