Celebrating summer solstice is an ancient ritual. The Danes have been doing it since the days of Odin and Thor. Summer solstice - the longest day of the year - is on June 21st or 22nd, but the Danes always celebrate Midsummer Night/St. John's Eve with bonfires on the 23rd. After Midsummer Night, the days shorten again. The meaning of Saint John is really 'John the Holy' - and the expression refers to none other than John the Baptist. According to the first Christians, he and Jesus divided the year between them. But when the wise men had calculated that Jesus was born on 25th December, why was John not born on 25th July then. Because the wise men expressed things differently. They claimed that Jesus had been born six days before 1st January, and John six days before 1st July i.e. on the 24th.
Source: Hanne Damian Lindquist, http://home0.inet.tele.dk/damian/Hans/heks.htm
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