St John’s Tide (June 24, three days after the summer solstice) is the great fire festival of midsummer. The longest days, the height of light, the soul breathing fully outward into the cosmos. In Waldorf understanding it is the polar festival to Christmas: where Christmas is the deep inbreath of the year, St John’s is the wide outbreath. This guide gives you the story, the rhythm of the day, recipes, the bonfire, Sophie’s paper window suncatchers, songs, and age-appropriate adaptations, with serious safety notes for fire.
The Meaning of the Festival
St John’s Tide is a festival of fire, courage, and purification, celebrated close to the summer solstice. It marks the height of the sun’s power and the call to step boldly into new growth. Traditionally associated with bonfires, jumping flames for courage, and revelling in the golden light of midsummer, this festival is about embracing warmth, light, and inner strength. In Waldorf settings, it is often celebrated with firelight, singing, and outdoor festivities.
Long before the Christian feast, this was the great Celtic and Germanic fire festival of midsummer. People climbed to the high places, lit bonfires on the hills, and leapt the flames as the short night fell. The Christian church set the feast of John the Baptist exactly six months opposite Christmas. John was the forerunner who pointed beyond himself, and his words became the festival’s secret gesture: "He must increase, I must decrease." After midsummer the light begins, very slowly, to wane. We turn, almost without noticing, back toward inwardness.
On the hillsides St John’s wort blooms a clear yellow at this time, a small sun-flower of the meadows. And the bonfire stands as the heart of the brief, warm, holy night.
Why It Matters in Waldorf Education
In Waldorf traditions, the year breathes. At Christmas, in the depth of winter, the cosmic spirit is drawn into the dark and quiet earth: the great inbreath. At St John’s Tide, in the height of summer, that spirit streams outward and disperses into the warm, shimmering atmosphere: the great outbreath.
This is the festival of the wide outward gaze. We go up to the high places. We watch the elemental beings, the salamanders of fire, dancing in the flames. The soul is invited to expand beyond its ordinary edges into the cosmos.
But the festival also carries John’s quiet warning. The height of light is also its turning. After St John’s, the year begins its long inward path through high summer, toward the inwardness and courage of Michaelmas in autumn, and on toward Advent. To celebrate midsummer rightly is to feel both the fullness of light and its first, almost imperceptible, decrease.
For the Southern Hemisphere
St John’s Tide is not traditionally kept as a festival in the Southern Hemisphere. June 24 there falls at the depth of winter, not the height of summer, and so the festival’s whole imagery, the long light, the short warm night, the bonfire on the hill, cannot be carried across the equator by the date alone. In Southern Hemisphere Waldorf tradition, the three main seasonal festivals (Spring, Autumn, and Midwinter) usually carry the work of the year without a separate Midsummer festival.
Some Southern Hemisphere families still wish to mark a summer fire festival, and for them the date that fits best is late December, near the December solstice, in the quiet spaces between Advent and the Christmas feast. This is not a traditional placement and is not widely observed, but a small garden bonfire, a wreath of summer flowers, and John’s image of receiving rather than forcing the light can be kept then. Leaping the flames of a settled ember bed, wreath-weaving, and the midsummer dew tradition all translate.
If your family is new to Waldorf, there is no requirement to keep this festival. It sits gently on the wheel and can be left on its Northern date only, or set aside altogether in favour of the main seasonal festivals.
The Week Before
Gather firewood: well-seasoned, dry hardwood for a clean burn, with smaller kindling and tinder kept dry.
Walk the meadows and lanes to identify St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), with its five-petalled yellow flowers and tiny perforated leaves; note where it grows.
Make or repair a flower wreath frame from supple willow or birch, ready for fresh greenery on the day.
Plan the bonfire location: a wide cleared area on bare earth or stone, well away from buildings, fences, dry grass, and overhanging branches; check local fire rules and conditions.
Prepare summer foods: pick the first strawberries, dig new potatoes, gather dill and chives, and lay in elderflowers if you mean to make cordial.
Festival Day, Evening to Morning
Late afternoon. Walk out together to gather greenery, daisies, cornflowers, and small wild grasses. Sit on the grass and weave the wreaths and a small midsummer herb bundle.
Sundown. The adults light the bonfire while the children watch from a safe, agreed distance. Stand quietly for a moment as the first flames take hold, and speak a short verse.
Evening. As the fire burns down to glowing, settled embers (not while it is leaping high), older children and adults may take turns leaping across the lowest, dying edge with serious adult supervision. Sing fire-songs. Tell the story of John the Baptist, or Sophie’s suggested tale of The Golden Bird.
The short night. Stay up as long as the children can manage. Watch the stars come and go in the brief darkness. Speak softly. Let the fire be the centre.
Sunrise. Go out into the wet grass at first light and wash your face in the midsummer dew, an old tradition said to bring clear eyes, health, and good fortune for the year.
Recipe: Midsummer Strawberry Cream Cake (Swedish style)
A light sponge layered with cream and the first strawberries of the year.
Ingredients
For the sponge: 4 eggs, 150 g sugar, 150 g flour, 1 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp warm water.
For the filling: 500 g fresh strawberries, 400 ml double cream, 2 tbsp icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla.
Method
Heat the oven to 175 C. Butter and flour a 23 cm round tin. Whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, thick, and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold gently with a large spoon. Fold in the warm water last. Pour into the tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden and just springing back. Cool fully on a rack.
Slice the cake into two or three layers. Whip the cream with icing sugar and vanilla. Reserve the prettiest berries for the top; slice the rest. Layer cake, cream, and sliced strawberries. Crown the cake with whole berries and a few small flowers from the garden, such as sweet violets or rose petals (only food-safe, unsprayed flowers).
Elderflower Cordial
Steep 20 fresh elderflower heads (shaken clean, not washed) and 2 sliced lemons in 1.5 litres of just-boiled water with 1 kg sugar and 2 tsp citric acid. Cover and leave for 24 hours, then strain through muslin and bottle. Serve diluted with cold sparkling water.
A note. St John’s wort flowers may be infused into oil for the skin, but they are not safe to give to children as a drink, and they interact with many medicines. Keep this herb to oil and bundle, not to cup.
A Midsummer Picnic
Pickled herring with rye bread and soured cream. New potatoes boiled with their skins on, tossed in butter and chopped dill. A bowl of just-picked strawberries. Warm flatbreads stuffed with soft cheese, chives, and parsley. Cordial for the children, and a small glass of something cold for the grown-ups.
Crafts
The Midsummer Wreath
Bend a length of fresh willow or birch into a circle the size of the head, and bind the ends with wire or strong thread. Tuck in soft greenery first (ivy, fern, beech), then weave in daisies, buttercups, cornflowers, and a few stems of yellow St John’s wort. Finish with long ribbons trailing down the back.
Safety. Flower crowns are for the meadow and the picnic. Never approach the bonfire wearing a wreath, loose hair, or trailing ribbons. Lay all wreaths aside on a safe table before going near the flames.
Paper Window Suncatchers
Paper window suncatchers hung at the window catch the high summer sun and scatter it across the room. They are a beautiful complement to the winter kite-paper stars, and a perfect small craft for the week leading up to the bonfire.
You will need: coloured kite paper or tissue paper in warm midsummer colours (sun-yellow, orange, red, gold), scissors, a pencil, a glue stick, and clear tape.
Cut simple sun shapes from the coloured paper: a central circle with rays, or a star with long points.
Layer two or three shapes slightly overlapping, gluing in the centre so each layer is still visible around the edges.
Let dry flat, then tape to a sunny window. The layered paper will glow like stained glass when the light passes through.
Building the Bonfire (Adult Work)
Choose a wide, level site of bare earth, sand, or stone, at least 5 metres clear of fences, buildings, hedges, and overhanging branches. Clear the ground of dry grass and leaves. If possible, ring the fire with stones.
Build the fire small and well, not huge. Lay a base of dry tinder (paper, birch bark, dry straw). Build a small tepee of fine kindling over it. Stack larger sticks around that, then a few seasoned hardwood logs. Light from the base, on the windward side.
Keep ready: a full bucket of water, a second bucket of sand or earth, a long-handled rake, and a charged phone. Never leave the fire unattended. Children stay behind a clear line agreed in advance. When the night is over, douse the fire fully with water, stir the ashes, and douse again until cold to the touch. Never use petrol or any accelerant.
The Midsummer Herb Bundle
Gather small sprigs of St John’s wort, mugwort, lavender, and yarrow. Lay them together with the flower heads aligned, and bind the stems tightly with red wool or linen thread, winding from the base upward and back down. Hang the bundle, flowers downward, above the door of the house, where it will dry slowly and keep watch over the year until next midsummer.
Songs and Verses
A Steiner verse for St John’s Tide.
O man, know thyself in the height of summer’s light,
for the cosmic Word resounds within the warmth,
and what the heart receives in the fire of June,
the soul will carry through the dark of the year.
An old fire-song, traditional, may be sung as a round.
Fire, fire, burning bright,
on the hill this summer night,
sun above and flame below,
round and round the embers glow.
A simple sun verse for the youngest.
Up, up, the sun stands high,
broad and bright across the sky.
Down, down, the long light streams,
warming all the meadow’s dreams.
Story Suggestion: The Golden Bird
Sophie suggests the classic fairy tale "The Golden Bird" for this festival. It is a tale of perseverance, fire, and the golden light of midsummer, a story of a young man who, with the help of a wise fox, seeks a bird whose feathers shine like flames. Told on the grass as the bonfire begins to burn down, it carries perfectly the mood of courage and light that St John’s Tide asks of us.
A Story for Children: The Yellow Flower on the Hill
Once, on the longest day of the year, a child named Liesel climbed a green hill behind her house. The grass was warm, and the bees were busy in the clover. At the very top she found a small flower she had never seen before. It had five yellow petals, and when she held it up to the sun, the petals seemed to glow as if they had caught a piece of the sky’s own gold.
An old woman was walking the path with her goat. "What is this flower?" Liesel asked.
The old woman smiled. "That is St John’s wort. It blooms only when the sun is at its highest. People say it holds a drop of summer light inside it, to give back to us in the dark months."
Liesel picked just one stem, and that night, when her family lit the midsummer fire down in the meadow, she carried the little yellow flower in her hand. As she watched the flames, she thought she could see, in the heart of every spark, a tiny golden petal flying up to meet the stars.
Materials List
Pantry
Flour, sugar, eggs, butter, double cream, vanilla, baking powder
Strawberries, new potatoes, dill, chives, parsley, soft cheese
Rye bread, pickled herring, soured cream
Elderflower heads, lemons, citric acid
Nature table
A yellow or gold cloth, a beeswax candle
A small bowl of strawberries, a sprig of St John’s wort
A few stones from a summer walk, a sun-figure or simple sun made of felted wool
Crafts
Willow or birch withies, florist wire, ribbon
Daisies and meadow flowers
Red wool or linen thread for the herb bundle
Scissors, a basket for gathering
Coloured kite paper or tissue paper, glue stick, tape for the suncatchers
Bonfire night
Seasoned hardwood, dry kindling, tinder, long matches or a lighter
A bucket of water, a bucket of sand or earth, a long rake
Sturdy closed shoes, hair tied back
Blankets to sit on, lanterns for the walk home
Adapting for Different Ages
For the youngest (ages 3 to 6)
The wonder is in the gathering, the wreath, the strawberries, and the first sight of the fire from a safe distance, held on a parent’s lap. Then bed at the usual time, perhaps with the window open to hear the singing.
Grades 1 to 3
Staying up later, helping to carry kindling, hearing the story of John the Baptist or The Golden Bird, and (only with direct adult support, only over the low dying embers, with closed shoes and tied-back hair) taking part in the gentle leap. Paper window suncatchers made in the week before give them something bright to look at indoors when the festival is over.
Grades 4 to 8
Full participation in the bonfire night. They may help build and tend the fire under adult guidance, learn the deeper teaching of the year’s breathing between Christmas and St John’s, take a turn watching the embers, and stay through the short night to see the dawn and wash in the dew.
A Note for the Parent
The fire is the heart of this festival. If a true bonfire is not possible, light a single candle on the doorstep, or a lantern in the garden, and gather around that small flame as if it were the great one on the hill. The wide summer night is itself the gift: the late light, the warm air, the children allowed to stay up past every ordinary rule.
Let the fire be small and safe and well tended. Let the wreaths lie on the table while you stand near the flames. And in the morning, in the wet grass, remember that the year has quietly turned.
About This Guide
This guide was written in collaboration with Sophie, co-founder of Starpath Learning and a Waldorf teacher, homeschool mentor, and curriculum developer. The paper window suncatchers craft and The Golden Bird story suggestion come from her original Waldorf festival materials.
Further Reading
Cooper, Fynes-Clinton and Rowling, The Children’s Year (Hawthorn Press)
Carey and Large, Festivals, Family and Food (Hawthorn Press)
Druitt, Fynes-Clinton and Rowling, All Year Round (Hawthorn Press)