Cambridge University Central European Society - CUCES

Past Events

St John's bonfire night

Date: Thursday 23 June 2005
Venue: Granchester Meadows

7pm

CES offered an alternative way of spending the May Week. Instead of formal and organised forms of ‚enjoying oneself‘ (black ties…) Central European Society brought to you the bonfire party together with St John's party celebrations.

From time immemorial the vigil of the Midsummer Day has been the time for celebrations. In pagan times, folks gathered around bonfires to dance, drink and indulge themselves. With the advance of Christianity, the day was transformed into the feast of St John the Baptist, but the tradition of merry making survived. St. John's feast is still a popular event in most Central Europe, and in Baltic countries it is one of the most important annual celebrations and a bank holiday.

We celebrated the vigil of the St John's day in Cambridge by making a big bonfire in Granchester Meadows, around which we can sat and roasted sausages, drank, sang and chilled. To us this means food and drinks, musical instruments, and lots of good humour.

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