Summer has arrived, bringing with it the San Juan festival, celebrated in many towns across the Basque Country. Large crowds will gather in squares and green spaces on June 23rd, around the bonfire. Young people will be eager for their first holiday party, while adults will enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere, perhaps with a sardine or a drink in hand.
The bonfire will be lit, and dance groups will perform around it. But what are we truly celebrating? According to the author, many will not grasp the cycle of nature or the significance of this ancient ritual. Instead of seeing the fire as a magical element to thank the sun, it has become a consumer item, co-opted by the Church and commercialized by capitalism.
Etxebarria questions why we continue to celebrate the summer solstice festival in honor of a Church saint, and why we have abandoned celebrating it through genuine community effort (auzolanean). Faced with this dilemma, only a few uphold ancient customs: jumping over the fire, gathering herbs, or watching the sunrise.
However, most will attend the June 23rd festivities, alongside people of all ages and ideologies. The author points out that, even in a time when Church repression and persecution are denounced, descendants of witches will also approach the light of the San Juan bonfire, wearing protest t-shirts or bags. This, in his view, is our contradiction and main dilemma: Do we want to celebrate San Juan or the Solstice (Udaburua)?
