{"id":2570,"date":"2023-06-19T03:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T01:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sunsetbeachclub.com\/blog\/?p=2570"},"modified":"2023-06-19T12:17:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T10:17:49","slug":"have-you-experienced-the-night-of-san-juan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sunsetbeachclub.com\/blog\/holiday-tips\/have-you-experienced-the-night-of-san-juan\/","title":{"rendered":"Have You Experienced the \u201cNight of San Juan\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This Friday the 23rd<\/sup> June, the beaches of Benalm\u00e1dena \u2013 and many other Spanish towns and cities \u2013 will come alive to celebrate the Night of San Juan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This not-to-be-missed date on the local festivities calendar coincides (nearly\u2026) with the summer solstice; the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of summer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The ‘San Juan’ Festivity is the eve of the Christian celebration preceding the birth of Saint John the Baptist on June 24th. Some link the festivities or some of its celebrations to pre-Christian or non-Christian pagan rituals. In European Mediterranean countries, the tradition of lighting bonfires is usually a common element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of this custom is associated with celebrations that marked the arrival of the summer solstice, on June 21st in the northern hemisphere, with the main ritual consisting of lighting a bonfire. The purpose of this ritual was to “give more strength to the sun,” which from those days onward would become “weaker”\u2015the days become shorter until the winter solstice. Symbolically, fire also has a “purifying” function for those who witness it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Fire is the protagonist of this magical night as hoards of people head to the beach to build bonfires and watch the impressive firework displays up and down the coastline. If you\u2019re staying at Sunset Beach Club and you\u2019re lucky enough to have an east-facing view (towards the Marina), don\u2019t miss the firework display programmed for 1am (night of the 23rd<\/sup> to 24th<\/sup> June) at the Bil-Bil Castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t have a room facing east, you can always take a stroll to the end of the promenade in front of the hotel; from there you will have panoramic views of the firework display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be alarmed by all the people you see on the beaches, the Night of San Juan is extremely popular amongst locals and parties go on until the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many traditions related to this evening; however, in coastal towns like Benalmadena, there are two main ingredients: Fire and the sea. Here are a few things you can expect to see and traditions you can take part in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n