Earlier this week we celebrated St. John’s Festival (not rugby) at my son’s school, Michael Mount. Some of my favourite photo’s from the evening are displayed below. This year my dad is visiting on a working holiday from France, so we dragged him along. Naturally, he wanted to know what the festival is all about.
The day is one of the very few saint’s days to mark the anniversary of the birth, rather than the death, of its namesake, John the Baptist. In the northern hemisphere where these festivals were first celebrated, St. John’s Festival marks the summer solstice or mid-summer where nature reaches its fullest growth and the sun is at its greatest strength. The sun at its height and zenith is the symbol for St. John’s time. Here, in South Africa, it’s mid-winter, the complete opposite. The days are short and the nights are long and cold (this year was particularly cold). As winter comes, bringing darkness and cold, we must cultivate our inner light and warmth. The Festival of John the Baptist celebrates the fire of the spirit within the human mind and heart. The Festival reminds us to be inwardly alive and awake in preparation for the new growth to come (as it always does – after winter comes spring). The flame of St. John gives us the warmth and courage to follow our chosen paths, no matter how much of a bumpy road it seems at times.
All the children make lanterns as this gives them a picture of their light within. A huge bonfire is lit and once it is small enough, everyone jumps over it, symbolically leaving the past and preparing for the future. There’s also a real sense of community as warm soup and rolls are dished out afterwards to everyone at the festival.
The entire gallery for St John’s Festival at Michael Mount 2009 can be found on Flickr.
