10 Bizarre Summer Solstice Rituals Still Practiced Today

Each year around June 21, the sun hangs in the sky just a little longer—and people all over the world mark the summer solstice with strange, fiery, and often half-naked rituals. While some customs involve joyful dances around bonfires, others entail symbolic death, fertility rites, or the invocation of ancient gods. What’s weirder is many of these traditions aren’t dusty relics—they’re still happening today.

From Estonia to the Arctic Circle, here are ten solstice rituals so bizarre you’ll wonder how they ever started… and why they haven’t stopped.

Related: 10 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Our Universe

10 Fire-Jumping in Estonia

In Estonia, the summer solstice festival of Jaanipäev is celebrated with bonfires—and a time-honored tradition of jumping over them. Yes, people of all ages leap flaming logs in the name of good luck, fertility, and chasing away evil spirits. The higher you jump, legend says, the better your crops and romantic prospects in the coming year.

The tradition dates back to pre-Christian paganism, when the fire symbolized purification and protection. Despite the obvious safety concerns, it’s still a major part of midsummer parties throughout the country. Entire families gather around massive fires that burn late into the night, often with music, sausages, and just enough alcohol to make leaping through fire seem like a good idea.

While some Estonians use safe, decorative fires now, many rural areas maintain the “real” tradition with full-blaze bonfires and brave jumpers. Injuries are rare but not unheard of—making it one of the more adrenaline-fueled ways to celebrate the solstice.^[1]

9 All-Night Sun Salutations in Times Square

Every June, New York City turns its most commercial space into a spiritual arena for the Solstice in Times Square celebration. Thousands of yoga practitioners roll out mats in the middle of the street and perform mass synchronized sun salutations, facing skyscrapers instead of mountains.

The event began in 2003 with just a handful of yogis who wanted to reclaim calm and mindfulness during the chaotic peak of the year. Organizers picked the solstice—when the sun reaches its zenith—as a symbolic moment to reflect and reset. Today, the event draws international instructors and is broadcast globally.

But there’s something inherently surreal about watching people twist themselves into downward dog while LED ads for soda and car insurance blaze around them. It’s one part peace, one part performance art, and all part of the weird magic that defines New York’s approach to spiritual wellness.^[2]

8 Burning Effigies in Ukraine’s Kupala Night

In Ukraine and other Slavic countries, the summer solstice overlaps with Ivan Kupala Night, a blend of pagan fertility rites and Christian tradition. Central to the celebration is the burning of human-shaped effigies—symbolic figures representing winter, misfortune, or bad luck.

As part of the ritual, young couples leap over bonfires, girls float flower wreaths down rivers to predict their future love lives, and mock weddings are held by firelight. In some villages, people even build giant straw dolls and ceremonially set them ablaze while chanting or dancing in circles.

It’s a chaotic mix of superstition, fun, and ancient symbolism. Despite repeated attempts by religious authorities to suppress or “Christianize” the event, modern Ukrainians continue to celebrate Kupala Night in full, often with added music festivals and all-night forest gatherings that blur the line between tradition and rave.^[3]

7 Watching the Sun Not Set in the Arctic Circle

In places like Tromsø, Norway, and Rovaniemi, Finland, the solstice is a 24-hour spectacle: the sun doesn’t set at all. Known as the Midnight Sun, this natural phenomenon turns day into a surreal, extended twilight where the sky glows golden, and sleep becomes optional.

To celebrate, locals hold all-night festivals with open-air concerts, reindeer races, and even midnight golf tournaments. In Sweden, Lapland communities perform traditional joik songs and wear Sámi attire while feasting under the never-dark sky. Visitors describe it as eerie, beautiful, and slightly disorienting.

While the solstice itself is scientifically predictable, the customs it inspires—like night hikes, sun-drenched vigils, or eating pancakes at 3 a.m.—highlight how cultures adapt to the extremes of their geography. It’s the longest day of the year… stretched into a surreal, sleepless celebration.^[4]

6 Naked Pagan Dancing at Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury, England, is already a hotspot for spiritual seekers and neopagans—but on the summer solstice, Glastonbury Tor becomes a site of drumming, chanting, and occasional nudity. Druids, witches, and spiritualists gather before sunrise to greet the sun from the hill’s summit in a ritual meant to honor ancient nature-based traditions.

Some come dressed in ceremonial robes or flower crowns; others come in nothing at all, believing nudity brings them closer to the earth. The ritual is typically calm and respectful, involving shared chants, small offerings, and symbolic gestures such as pouring water or lighting incense.

The Tor, with its solitary tower and panoramic views, is believed to have been a sacred site long before the advent of Christianity. Today, it’s still considered a place of energy and alignment. While not an officially organized event, the gathering grows each year, and police usually just monitor from a distance—leaving the Druids to their dawn-lit dance.^[5]

5 Lighting “Sun Wheels” on Fire in the Alps

In parts of Austria and southern Germany, solstice night is celebrated by setting massive wooden wheels on fire and rolling them down hills. Known as Sonnwendfeuer (solstice fires), these flaming wheels represent the sun at its peak and are said to bless the land with warmth and fertility for the coming months.

The wheels, sometimes 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, are packed with straw and resin to maximize flame and speed. Once lit, they’re sent hurtling down grassy slopes toward fields or rivers—sometimes while villagers cheer and chant. If the wheel rolls cleanly to the bottom, it’s considered a good omen for crops and local prosperity.

Though the practice dates back to pagan sun worship ceremonies, many Alpine villages still maintain it as a treasured local tradition. Some towns have added fireworks or music festivals, but the flaming wheels remain the centerpiece—equal parts beautiful and slightly terrifying.^[6]

4 Solstice Ceremonies at Chichén Itzá

While the equinox is most famous at Chichén Itzá—when shadows create the illusion of a serpent descending the pyramid—some modern spiritual groups also gather on the summer solstice. They honor Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god, with offerings and symbolic ceremonies at the foot of the temple.

Participants may bring food, flowers, or burn copal resin as part of the ritual. Others perform traditional dances or bury ceremonial items in shallow pits. These acts reflect a blend of ancient Mayan spirituality and contemporary revival practices.

Although there’s less historical evidence that the solstice was as significant to the Maya as the equinox, the event remains spiritually powerful to many visitors today. The blending of ancient reverence with modern expression creates a mystical, theatrical solstice celebration.^[7]

3 Fire on the Water in Coastal Devon

While the famous Ottery St. Mary tar barrel event takes place in November, some lesser-known coastal towns in Devon have been known to mark the summer solstice with fire-themed maritime rituals. In rare instances, flaming barrels or rafts are floated out to sea to symbolize casting away misfortune or honoring the sun.

Historically, fire on the water was meant to ward off sea spirits and bring good luck to fishermen. Though not a widespread modern tradition, these local customs occasionally resurface, often in informal or unadvertised gatherings.

The practice may lack official sanction, but when it happens, the effect is striking: flames drifting on waves, the hiss of fire meeting water, and echoes of older beliefs about tides, fire, and fate.^[8]

2 Midsummer Graveyard Picnics in Sweden

In parts of rural Sweden, particularly in Dalarna and Västmanland, families honor the solstice by picnicking in cemeteries and laying out food on ancestral graves. While it might sound morbid, the tradition is rooted in reverence and a desire to include the dead in midsummer joy.

Locals decorate graves with flowers, light candles, and sometimes even share a beer or herring with their ancestors (symbolically, of course). It’s an extension of Sweden’s broader midsommar festivities, which include maypole dancing, flower crowns, and copious drinking—but with a more solemn, familial twist.

Some believe this practice blends Christian All Saints’ Day customs with older Norse ancestor worship. Others see it as a way to bridge generations in a season of life and fertility. Either way, it’s a touching—if eerie—reminder that midsummer isn’t just about sunlight but a memory.^[9]

1 Setting “Witch Dolls” on Fire in Spain

In the Spanish region of Galicia, the Night of San Juan (June 23–24) is celebrated with bonfires, ocean rituals, and a particularly dramatic tradition: burning symbolic effigies—sometimes shaped like witches. These life-sized figures, often made of straw and old clothes, represent bad luck, gossip, or curses—and are set ablaze at midnight.

The fire is meant to purify and protect for the second half of the year. Some dolls are made to resemble specific individuals (a neighbor, a corrupt official, an ex), although they’re officially described as “symbolic.” People leap over the fires, burn lists of fears or regrets, and wash their feet in the ocean to cleanse away negative energy.

The festival blends Christian and pagan imagery with Celtic mysticism—Galicia is one of Spain’s most “magical” regions, famous for witches (meigas), rituals, and legends. The result is a summer solstice that looks less like a beach party and more like a witch trial finale… only with more seafood and fireworks.^[10]

fact checked by
Darci Heikkinen