Nit de Sant Joan

Nit de Sant Joan is celebrated on the night of 23 June, the eve of Saint John’s Day, and in Catalonia it is often called simply la revetlla. The festival combines the Christian feast day with older midsummer customs focused on fire and the year’s shortest nights. In many towns, the Flama del Canigó, a flame carried from the Canigó mountain in the eastern Pyrenees, arrives in the evening and is used to light local bonfires. Streets, squares and seafronts fill after sunset, and the noise starts early: children and teenagers set off petards and coets for hours. People commonly greet each other with “Bona revetlla” or “Bon Sant Joan.”

During 23 June, bakeries stack trays of coca de Sant Joan, the long, flat pastry most closely linked to the night. The classic version is topped with candied fruit and pine nuts, though many shops also sell cream-filled or llardons versions. Families eat late, then head outside to join neighbors or friends. In Barcelona, beaches such as Barceloneta and Bogatell become crowded with groups carrying drinks, music and picnic food, while inland towns gather in plazas around bonfires. Fireworks peak around midnight and continue well past it; many people stay out until dawn, and the early hours of 24 June feel like the real end of the celebration.

The pack has 36 words spread across these domains.