Midsummer’s Eve, Tuesday 23 June 2026

Lohals Harbour, North Beach in Lohals (bonfire at 21:00)
Bagenkop Harbour (bonfire lit at 21:30 – bonfire speech at 21:00 by Joan Kate Pedersen)
Humble, in the lane by the sports ground, entrance from Hovedgaden (bonfire at 8.00 pm)
Tullebølle Leisure Park (speech at 8.30 pm by Almira Vojnikovic, followed by the lighting of the bonfire)
Dageløkke (Bonfire lit at 21.00, bonfire speech by Søren Ramsing)
Spodsbjerg Citizens’ Association (Bonfire lit at 20.00 by the lake. Bonfire speech at 19.30 by Jane Jegind)
Longelse Vicarage Garden (CANCELLED)
Rudkøbing Football Club (Speech by Jane Jegind at 8.30 pm)
Restaurant Skudehavnen Rudkøbing (Midsummer barbecue buffet)
Strynø
Broløkke Manor House (Summer buffet from 6 pm, bonfire and Midsummer singing at approx. 8 pm)
Restaurant Kædeby Cafeen (Takeaway open-faced sandwiches)

The list is updated regularly.

If your event isn’t on the list, please send an email to: visit@langelandkommune.dk

Why do we celebrate St John’s Eve?

St John’s Eve, on 23 June, is the evening before St John’s Day, which is the birthday of St John the Baptist.

Although the summer solstice falls on 21 June, St John’s Eve in Denmark has traditionally been regarded as Midsummer’s Eve and therefore as the shortest night of the year.

According to folklore, St John’s Eve was imbued with a special power. It was believed that medicinal herbs gathered on St John’s Eve were more potent, just as the dew on the grass was thought to have a healing effect in itself.

The same was true of the water in the holy springs, which is why the sick would make a pilgrimage to them on this evening and night. In connection with this, the so-called ‘spring markets’ sprang up, featuring tents, stalls and entertainment. The best known of these is the amusement park Dyrehavsbakken, north of Copenhagen, which originated in the 1700s. It provided the inspiration for Adam Oehlenschläger’s *Sanct Hansaften-Spil* (1803).

But evil forces were also at work on such an intense night; for example, witches would fly past on their broomsticks on their way to Bloksbjerg or Hekkenfeldt.

To ward off evil, bonfires were lit, often in high places, or torches were lit in tar barrels, or bundles of straw were set alight on poles.

Placing a witch effigy on the bonfire is a tradition that only became common in the 20th century, when it also became customary to give a bonfire speech and sing Holger Drachmann’s Midsummer song from the fairy-tale comedy *Once Upon a Time* (1885).

Source: Gyldendal *Den Store Danske*