On June 23, on the return of Spain, the train crossed the Euskadi border at dusk and there were fires to the right and left in all the towns. Now we would say that it was “magical”, and it has always been so, although in ancient times the sense of magic was not so lyrical, but very pragmatic, the activity that could condition reality.

Even in danger of appearing as an ankylosing party, it has to be said that in the bars of San Juan de Luz there was no intention to worship the sun or to help in its journey. Although the fires would not have been incinerating to put an end to old sorrows and storms: the storms were mostly recycled and the aim of the fires was, above all, to destroy the harmful beings. The evil and evil that brought hunger and disease, the stone makers and storms, the eye launchers, said they wanted to kill them, both in word and in word, singing “burn toads and snakes, keep wheat and corn in the box,” burning sorcerer dolls.

The idea has lasted: in May, demonstrators against the French labour reform set the portraits of François Hollande and his friends in the city of Albi on fire because they were considered evil. By necessity, symbolic calcinations, since at one time presumed witches were actually burned and, until the 19th century, snakes, cats and other diabetic animals.

Pragmatism did not prevent people from enjoying the beauty of the fires and glorifying themselves in games. In Orozko, when they were going to plant protective crossings in the fields, they carried lighted torches in their hands and used them with a hype and saucer to remove the spark wheels. And when everything was over, they came back happy to their house, hoping to get a good harvest, with the ritual packed full.

The extraordinary virtue of the night and day of San Juan also passes to plants and water. They don't seem to be sun-bathed, because you have to pick up the herbs before they appear or sprinkle them with dew. Witches used this virtue for evil, and all night they were looking for poisonous matter for the shed. Honest people scared them with the gunfire and rattle of the bells. And now they jump over the healthy alamartxo and pass the bouquet of flowers into the smoke, tighten it hard and put it in front of the door, to take care of the house.

Finally, the Church accepted these rites and often added a blessing to them. Much later, the new age has passed above all and the goals have dematerialized: it is liberated from hunger and seeks happy well-being. And so, for centuries, when they meet and when they leave, the Feast of St. John has come to this day, to satisfy everyone and for many years.