Summer Solstice in Copenhagen

In Denmark, Sankt Hans aften, (St. John's Eve) or Summer Solstice has been celebrated on June 23 since 1770, with festivities starting the evening before the official holiday. Whether in parks, on beaches or water all over the country, Danes come together for picnics, speeches and traditional songs. A bonfire is made to ward away evil spirits, the tradition being that a witch made of cloth and straw is burned, sending away all worries to the mountain"Brocken" in the Harz region of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held.

(Some Danes also told me that evil spirits are sent to Sweden)

In 2006, I celebrated Sankt Hans in Faelledparken, Copenhagen.