Night of St. Hans
Description:
The first half of June is a special time. It is the time of the longest days and the shortest nights. Trees and grasses are blooming like never before. Birds illuminate the forest with cheerful voices. In some places, the first forest berries appear. Having reached the highest point, the sun begins to roll down to winter.
To this sacrament is timed the main holiday, which has come down to us from distant pagan times, which is still celebrated by the peoples of Europe. In different countries it is called differently. In Norway, the holiday is also named after John the Baptist, and therefore is called "Ivan's Night" - Jonsok.
In many countries, it is still common to jump over a fire, such games were perceived as a necessary rite of purification. Above the fire it is customary to put a high pole decorated with wreaths and leaves or crowned with a wheel. In Westlanne it is called kall or kjerring. The burning of the poles, which marks the departure of all the old and obsolete, is one of the most solemn moments of the holiday.
For centuries in Scandinavia on Ivanovo night it was customary to burn old boats at the stake. This rite is also very ancient and is dedicated to the spring god Baldru, killed by the hand of the treacherous Loki and burned in his ship Ringhorn. In the Viking era, such a funerary fire was a frequent occurrence, especially if vigilantes and relatives escorted a noble warrior or leader to Valhalla.
However, not everywhere in Norway it was customary to burn bonfires on Ivanovo night. In those areas where there is a “midnight sun” (Midnattssol), such a fire is not necessary in principle: sunlight itself scares away evil spirits. On seters - high-mountain pastures - milkmaids burn torches or small bonfires at the barn to protect livestock from wild animals.
The summer solstice was timed to the rite of “awakening the field”. It was done by women, sometimes alone and sometimes with children. Walking around the field, the peasant women waved wreaths woven from flowers and stems, and sang:
Vekk opp, vekk opp, både åker og eng!
A no har du sove so lengje i seng.
A no har det vori både snjov og regn.
A no e Jonsoknotto kommo!
Wake up, wake up, fields and meadows!
So long did you sleep in a crib,
In the rain and in the snow,
And now it's Ivan's night!
Such a ceremony, as a rule, was performed in the evening before the holiday, and its conduct was charged with the duty of the mistress of the house. In the era of Christianity, the rite coincided with the procession of the cross, when the priest, accompanied by peasants, walked around the fields, blessing the coming harvest.
Of course, today many of these customs are either forgotten, or made purely formal. However, the holiday is alive, and still embodies the triumph of summer, fertility, flowering of vitality.