FEAST OF SAINT JOHN

 The Festival of San Juan is traditionally the festival of the Quintos, the young people from Rubielos who are turning 18. They are in charge of the festival. On Friday night, they head out to the mountains to cut down a pine tree, which they bring to one of the town squares and erect so that it presides over the entire festival. On Saturday, the mobile disco takes place.

On the night of San Juan, the young men would go around at night and then place garlands (made of cherry or hawthorn branches, roses, etc.) on the young women they wished to court. If a young woman had rejected a young man, he would place elm branches or an animal bone on her arbour as a mockery to “discredit the young woman and imply that she was of little worth.”

At dawn, before daybreak, the young men, young women, and children would go to the river to wash with dew-kissed water before the sun rose, because it was said to bring good luck for the rest of the year. It’s important to note that the night of San Juan is a magical night—the summer solstice and a change of season (the shortest night of the year on June 21)—a festival of pagan origin that has been revered since ancient times.