Latvia
15m
Jun 16, 2026
The Night the Ferns Bloom: Latvia's Jāņi and the Pagan Fire Festival That Never Stopped
Latvia officially converted to Christianity in the thirteenth century. Latvians celebrated it by continuing their pre-Christian summer solstice festival almost entirely unchanged, renaming it after John the Baptist, and maintaining its naked fire-jumping, oak-wreath wearing, fern-flower searching, and all-night folk singing with such dedication that UNESCO called it one of Europe's most complete surviving ancient ritual traditions. Here is what the fire is actually for.