Latvia to Celebrate Midsummer Night

Traditional Midsummer Celebration in Latvia

This evening, June 23, 2026, Latvia will celebrate Midsummer Night (Jāņi) – an ancient summer solstice festival with many traditions. People will gather around bonfires, sing folk songs, and weave flower wreaths.

Jāņi involve following old Latvian customs. For example, fields are visited and blessed for fertility, and the Jāņi figure is honored. Hosts treat guests with cheese and beer. At night, bonfires are lit on hilltops, and fire is raised on a pole to spread light. It was believed that touching the fire brings health for the whole year.

Beliefs hold that the midsummer light gives strength and fertility to fields and people. The sick were brought to the bonfire to be healed. The fire is thought to have a mysterious power, so people jumped over the bonfires.

Cows are decorated with midsummer grasses to show they are remembered. Giving cows grass cut with a scythe is avoided to prevent loss of milk. Horses were not put out to pasture to protect them from wolves and diseases.

To ward off evil, houses were adorned with rowan branches, thistles, or nettles. Fern branches were placed under the bed, and on the table there was a lime or oak branch, round Jāņi cheese, pies, and beer. On Midsummer Night, celebrants try to stay awake until sunrise.