The summer solstice is the longest day of the year — the day when the sun is in the sky for the most hours. In Latvia, which is quite far north, the midsummer nights are very short and twilight never fully fades. This magical half-light through the whole night makes Jāņi feel like something out of a fairy tale.
Everyone makes a crown for Jāņi. Men and boys traditionally make theirs from oak leaves — because oak is considered a strong, noble tree — while women and girls weave crowns from wildflowers, grasses and herbs. People wear their crowns all through the celebrations.
The bonfires at Jāņi are enormous. Latvians believe that leaping over the bonfire brings good luck and health for the year ahead. There is also a tradition of searching the forest for a fern flower at midnight — an old folk story says the magical fern blooms for just one moment at midsummer, and whoever finds it will be granted wisdom. (Botanists will tell you ferns do not actually flower, but the searching is still the fun part.)
Special foods are eaten at Jāņi: a round caraway cheese called Jāņu siers is made specially for the occasion, and people drink a traditional malt drink. Friends travel from the city to the countryside where the bonfires can be as big as a house, and the celebrations carry on until sunrise.