party in Florence (and beyond). Bonfires, good luck and love rituals

Florence, 24 June 2024 – Today’s celebration of Saint John it is a Christian festival which, as often happens, was grafted onto a previous pagan festival probably dating back to the Celtic ritual (Litha summer solstice) celebrated with propitiatory rites and the ignition of bonfire, a custom that still lights up the evening of the festival in various countries today. In this particular time of year, nature reaches its maximum splendor. On the same date the Church wanted to celebrate the day of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ.

The bonfires The bonfire is a widespread custom throughout Europe and has a recognized protective purpose from evil influences, witches and diseases. The bonfires that are lit in the fields are considered propitious and purifying, because the tongues of the flames strengthen the sun. Once the fire has gone out, it’s a good idea to skip them ashes and throw some in your hairto protect oneself from all evils. The water of San Giovanni On the evening of June 23rd, the water of San Giovanni is prepared, which is done by collecting the dew – which symbolizes the Moon – with which to wash hands and face on the morning of June 24th. To obtain this water, prepare one in a bowl mix of herbs and flowers spontaneous, collected strictly after sunset, such as St. John’s wort, lavender, mugwort and mallow, flowers and leaves of mint, rosemary and sage, to which it is possible to add petals of cornflower, poppy, rose or chamomile, based on the blooms of the area . Placed in water, they are left outside all night, so that they can absorb the morning dew. According to tradition, dew gives extraordinary powers to water, which will protect from diseases, misfortunes and from envy.

St. John’s oil There is also St. John’s oil, a natural product used for skin care thanks to its healing, antiseptic, emollient and anti-inflammatory properties. It is obtained from the maceration of fresh flowers of Hypericum perforatum, a plant belonging to the Hypericaceae family, also known as St. John’s Wort. From June 24th, that is the feast of Saint John, the flowers and buds still closed from the stems are separated and placed in a glass jar. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil, remembering to leave about 3 inches of space from the edge of the jar and leave to macerate in the sun for about a month. After just a few days you will notice that the oil has taken on its characteristic red or orange colour. After the month, the oil is filtered and stored away from the sun in a dark glass container with an airtight seal. St. John’s herbs Very widespread in Calabria, a custom involves hanging bunches of St. John’s herbs behind kitchen doors to protect the house and its inhabitants. The propitiatory bouquet is obtained by picking mixed herbs – St. John’s wort, artemisia, rue, mint, rosemary, parsley, garlic, lavender – after sunset on June 23rd, leaving them outdoors all night. Egg white In many Italian regions, especially in the south, the peasant tradition of the boat of San Pietro and Paolo is not celebrated on the night between 28 and 29 June, as in Brescia, but precisely in San Giovanni. The ritual, however, is very similar: by placing an egg white in a container with water left on the windowsill overnight, in the morning you can interpret the drawing obtained, similar to a ship, to know the future. The more numerous and unfurled the sails of the boat, the more abundant the harvest will be. The nut What does Saint John the Baptist have to do with nocino? Tradition has it that the walnuts are collected on the night of Saint John, by women with bare feet. The still unripe nuts, cut, are left to macerate in alcohol until the night of the dead on October 31st, the night dedicated to the Roman goddess Pomona, goddess of fruits and seeds. Throughout the summer it is advisable to place the container in the sun and store it indoors during the night. Once the maceration is complete, the alcohol will have taken on a brown colour. At this point you can add water to lower the alcohol content. In some regions of Italy water is replaced by white wine. Once bottled, the nocino must be left to rest before drinking it, until Christmas. Love and marriage Many rituals are linked to the possibility of finding a husband, or of knowing who he will be or how he will be, whether rich or poor. In certain areas, before falling asleep, girls usually pray to Saint John to show them the face of their future partner in a dream; others say that if a girl looks in the mirror at midnight, she will see his reflected next to her face. Even placing a bunch of bay leaves under the pillow helps you dream of the face of your future love. Always linked to matters of the heart and engagements, it is the ritual of rag dolls, filled with St. John’s herbs, which mothers give to their daughters to wish for fertility. There is also another custom: if a single girl burns a thistle on the evening of the 23rd and the next day it is still green, then a man will soon arrive to ask for her hand. Then, there is the ritual of the three beans, which when wrapped and placed under the pillow will give the next morning the measure of how rich the husband will be. At midnight, take three beans: at the first remove the peel completely, at the second remove half the peel, and at the third leave it intact. Wrap the three beans like sweets with three identical cards, put them under the pillow and sleep on it. In the morning, picking one at random, if the peel is whole it means that you will meet a rich husband, a wealthy husband with half a peel and a poor one without the peel. Finally, a legend says that only at midnight sharp, a fern plant that grows along the streams blooms: whoever manages to pick this flower will acquire the reputation of being wise and able to read the past and predict the future. Florence, the program of the feast of San Giovanni Florence returns to celebrate its Patron Saint with a rich calendar of events. This morning at 8.30 am the Procession of Homage parades from Via Folco Portinari towards Piazza Duomo and at the Loggia del Bigallo it joins the Historical Procession of the Florentine Republic and then heads towards Via Calzaiuoli and Piazza della Signoria where the delivery of the Cross of Saint Giovanni to the mayor of Florence. At 9:00 Piazza della Signoria becomes colorful with the performance of the Bandierai degli Uffizi. Immediately afterwards the procession leaves Piazza della Signoria to take Via Calzaiuoli and arrive in Piazza del Duomo. At 10:00 am at the Loggia del Bigallo, the Exhibition of the Reliquary of the Society of Saint John the Baptist and the Crosses of Saint John returns for the first time after the pandemic and the restoration work carried out by Montedomini. The procession then moves to the Baptistery of San Giovanni to celebrate the Offering of the Candles to the Archbishop and the Florentine chapter by the mayor and the Society of San Giovanni Battista. At 10.30 am appointment in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore for the Solemn Mass in honor of the Patron Saint in the presence of the Deputation of San Giovanni Battista who also delivers the Cross of San Giovanni to the Archbishop of Florence. For the twenty-first year the Cross of St. John is created for the occasion by the Paolo Penko goldsmith’s shop, shaped in silver with the ancient technique of lost wax casting and embellished with the caesoro technique and nine settings, drawing inspiration from the Saint John holds his hand in the polyptych “Madonna with Child and Saints” by Jacopo Di Cione known as Orcagna, dated 1383 and located in the Church of SS. Apostoli and Biagio. In the evening at 9pm on the Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia the concert by the State Police Band precedes the long-awaited show at 10pm when the lights go down over Florence and there is silence to witness 40 minutes of great emotions with the Fires of San Giovanni. New features also for the plays of light with the choreographies which will be dedicated to Florence with the inevitable colored lilies, to the national Tricolor and then the night will be colored with yellow for a special gift at the departure of Tour de France 2024. Big surprise the “final discharge” completely renewed. Today they will be extraordinarily open and visitable Offices (from 8.15 to 18.30) that the Boboli’s Garden (from 8.15am to 7.10pm). On this occasion, rooms B1.B9 of the Uffizi will not be open to visitors. The celebrations in Vicchio Vicchio is preparing to celebrate the Patron Saint, San Giovanni. And as always it is a packed program of events, throughout the day, which will culminate with the big village dinner and the inevitable fireworks. The day of celebration is preceded, as last year, by the evocative “sharing of flowers for the water of San Giovanni”, on Sunday 23 June at 6 pm at the Baracchina al lago di Montelleri, organized by the ‘Olistizzate Mugello’ association and Pro Loco. Today, from 9am to midnight, extraordinary market, the stands of agricultural producers, the hobbyist and second chance market, the spaces of local associations. And it will also be possible to visit the Beato Angelico Museum of Sacred Art and Popular Religiosity for free. From 3pm, workshops for families “Our eyes on the world” organized by the Parents’ Council and Nuova Gesta in collaboration with the Jazz Club of Vicchio association, historical naval modeling by Andrea Dreoni, Pontassieve modeling and history association, beating of the flail by of the Agricultural Group, riding by the Asd Cavallo Nero and educational workshop for children. At 6 pm the solemn mass for the Patron Saint animated by the Pastoral Unit Choir with distribution of bunches of wheat. The “St. John’s Dinner” follows at 7.30 pm. From 8pm performance by the Vicchio Folk Band (director Antonio Vecchio), Fratres awards ceremony, music with “Le wave sonore”. And finally, from 11pm “Tombolino di San Giovanni” and fireworks show. Born today Renzo Arbore born on 24 June 1937 in Foggia. He turns 87 today. The recipe for coping with advancing age? He revealed the secret some time ago: “Playing and singing around the world with the Italian Orchestra, because music keeps me young”. He said: “I have always been alternative. I have done the other cinema, the other theatre, the other television, the other radio, the other Neapolitan song. And so I will also do ‘the other birthday’, as if I were a fifty-year-old . And I’ll start over.”