Sankt Hans

On Tuesday evening Libby and I joined our Danish friends to celebrate Sankt Hans (midsummer). I was intrigued by this ritual and looked into its history. In Denmark, the solstitial (great word) celebration is called "Sankt Hans aften" (literally "St. John's Eve"). 24 June was an official holiday until 1770, and in accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day when the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would go out into the forests to gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people of their ills.

Since the times of the Vikings it has been celebrated by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are now the tradition. In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings from 1540 to 1693. This burning sends the "witch" away to Bloksbjerg, the mountain 'Brocken' in the Harz region of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held on this day.

Of course most people don't even know why they celebrate and it's a good excuse for a get together, a few drinks and a BBQ. This year the weather was stunning - 25 degs during the day (it still gets a little chilly once the sun goes down) and clear blue skies. We celebrated Sankt Hans just north of Copenhagen at Charlottenlund where we had an evening picnic before the ceremonial fire-lighting at 10pm. Needless to say, a good time was had by all....

Photos: the bonfire; Kat (our best Danish friend); and Kamilla and Mike (just about to burst into traditional Danish song)