June 24, usually celebrated on the evening of June 23
Summer
Name day of Jonas and Janina, bonfires, wreaths, fern flower, kupoles herbs, communities
Jonines in Lithuania joins St John's Day, name-day greetings, and older summer-solstice customs: bonfires, wreaths, kupoles herbs, songs, and the legend of the fern flower.
What Is Jonines in Lithuania?
Jonines in Lithuania is the June 24 feast usually begun on the evening of June 23. It falls in the summer-solstice period, so many old nature customs survived beside the day of St John the Baptist. VLE notes that in the Baltic lands this feast is known from the fourteenth century: it is mentioned in 1372 in a letter of Bishop Henry II of Warmia, later in the 1573 Wolfenbüttel postil and the works of M. Pretorius (1690); before Christianity it was called Kupoles or Rasos, and the name Jonines became established only in the later dictionaries of K. G. Milkus (1800) and F. Kuršaitis (1883).
Today Jonines is at once a name-day celebration, a summer community gathering, and a chance to remember Rasos customs. That is why Jonines can feel folk, familial, and very contemporary at the same time.
When Is Jonines Celebrated and Why Is June 24 a Day Off?
Jonines is marked on June 24, while the main events take place on the eve. In Lithuania the day is a public holiday, so many people plan travel, meetings in nature, or participation in public celebrations.
In practice the most important time is the evening of June 23. That is when wreaths are woven, bonfires lit, Jonases and Janinas greeted, concerts and evening gatherings held, circle dances danced, and night customs performed.
How Jonines Is Celebrated Today
Large events often have a stage, concert, traders' or craft fair, folklore groups, wreath weaving, and a symbolic bonfire. This works well for people who want a clear program and festive atmosphere.
Community Jonines leaves more room for custom. People weave wreaths themselves, sing, go to water, dance circles, greet name-day celebrants, and talk by the fire. That format often stands closer to the older meaning of the feast.
Bonfires, Wreaths, Kupoles, and the Fern Flower
The Jonines bonfire is a sign of both light and community. Songs, dances, and games happen around it. In some places, jumping over the fire survives as a custom connected with cleansing, courage, and luck.
Wreaths and kupoles herbs remind us that Jonines is not only a city concert. Its roots are in herbs, fields, water, and night. The fern-flower legend adds playful mystery: people search while knowing that the real discovery is the adventure itself.
How Jonines Differs from Rasos
Rasos emphasizes the solstice, dew, kupoliavimas, and the archaic layer of the feast. Jonines is more closely tied to St John's name, greetings to Jonases and Janinas, public events, and the widely recognized name of the holiday.
In everyday speech the feasts often merge. A person may say they are going to Jonines but take part in Rasos actions: weaving a wreath, floating it on a river, singing by a bonfire, and washing in dew.
Preparing for Jonines as Tradition, Not Only Concert
Before choosing an event, look for signs of an ethnocultural program: wreath weaving, kupoliavimas, folklore groups, circle dances, stories about customs, and a shared bonfire. Those signs show that the celebration is not only a stage and food stalls.
With friends, a simple traditional plan can be enough: gather herbs together, weave wreaths, light a safe bonfire or candle, sing at least a few folk songs, go to water, and wait for dawn.
