Midsummer Fire Flies Night Walk

Community Event

• Enjoy the leap from the spring to the summer…
• Where: Komenského Sady – entrance at Horova Street just next to Nová Radnice at the bridge
  23 June 9:00pm – 10:30pm
• FREE of charge for the Internationals, their families and guests.
• Allow yourself…to walk slowly through the evening park and look for the golden fern…let some flowers float on the river with your most secret wishes to come true…search for the fire flies – it is the only day in the year when they should would appear…And the magic flute may appear…And if the fire flies somehow miss the right date, let us bring small lights – torches or candles in safe glass lanterns and bring some light into this very special night.
• On the way you can share with others how this special night is celebrated all around the world.
• Bring: a torch, a glass lantern with a candle and flowers to let flow with the water if you wish.

The tradition:
During Midsummers’ Night when the nights are the shortest and the days the longest, all nations come out to celebrate in one way all the other. Many rites of this holiday are connected with water, fire, night, flowers, herbs, fairs, music, love, fertility, autopurification and even meditation.
The girls, for example, would float their flower garlands on the water of rivers and tell their fortunes from their movement. Lads and girls would jump over the flames of fires.
The celebration of St John’s Day ( = John the Baptist, born exactly 6 month before Jesus, that means exactly half a year to Christmas) begins the evening before. It is known as St John’s Eve – Svatojánská noc. In Ukraine the form of the name Jan is Ivan and so the festival is called Ivana Kupala.
In the past people would come out, gathered during the night or in the morning wild flowers and herbs against diseases (9 kinds of flowers – devatero kvítí). No wonder: the night smells magic.
Young couples often left for the woods “to look for the golden fern” or “the fern blossoms”, and as they do not exist, they just enjoyed wandering around and being in the middle of the nature.
NB: Alcohol is not allowed in the park. And if it is raining cats and dogs… well, we shall see. The rain may make it even more interesting.