American Reacts to Sankthansaften | Jonsok | Saint John's Eve
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
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As an American I don't know about Norwegian holidays. Today I am very interested in learning about the Norwegian holiday of Sankthansaften and what it means, If you enjoyed the video feel free to leave a comment, like, or subscribe for more!
It was not originally about St. John, it's a pagan celebration that Christians tried to claim.
Thanks for clearing that up for non-norwegians
Like they did with Chrismas...
@@JesperSandgreen Exacly, hell we pretty much still have the same name for Christmas when it was a pagan holyday. Youle=Jul
I have never heard about the christian aspect of this.. Its Jonsok, a celebration of the solstice, like the old norrøn tradition. The christians just clames everything and just makes it a christian thing, when we did this long before the christians came along. The same with christmas(Jol) and other things, we had all this BEFORE they came and forced their religion an everyone.
You (USA) celebrate 4th of July but this has nothing to do with Independence Day. From a bible standpoint the Catholic Church is St. John's Memorial Day for John the Baptist. Then you also have the folk tradition, which marks the solstice, where daylight is getting shorter and shorter for each day. Sankthans was a public holiday for a long time, but was one of several that was removed in 1770. Now it’s just a date that Norwegian have barbecues and parties and they do it just to feel good and celebrate that school and summer is here
Sankt hans was celebrated as both a religious and a Norse celebration, but that was in the past.
Today we celebrate the turning of the sun, which means that the day before his solstice is shorter than his solstice itself, while his solstice itself is the longest day of the summer, so the day after his solstice is again a little shorter, which means we get less sun , the shorter the days.
Yes I’m ready for a little party, drinking and a lot of BBQ.
🇳🇴
First of all: Why do you talk like that? Just be normal! Second: The St Hans Aften fire was originally established to burn witches. That's why you have fireworks that scream, but not explode, in them. In the last 150 years or so there has been a deficit of witches, so the screaming fireworks was introduced. It is a nice family tradition, and you eliminate all the driftwood on the beaches. It is more common in Denmark than in Norway.
This lady's accent is very strange.
Its basically us Norwegian's celebrating midsommer😊
Yeah
FAIIYAAA
Im from 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴 hei ha en fin dag
And Sweden.
I am danish and we also celebrate Sankt Hans aften / St. Johns Eve. It is actually an Old Norse holiday which was later combined with the celebration of a Catholic saint, St. John, but it is originally a pagan midsummer festival where bonfires are lit to celebrate the longest day of the year (actually a few days earlier). This day is very important for us in the north - just like the winter solstice on December 21, which is now celebrated on Christmas Eve. Our winter days are very short and our summer days are very long in the Nordic countries, so it affects our lives a lot. We used to burn witches too, but it has gone out of fashion, lately 🔥
we also celebrate Sct. Hans in Denmark, we "send" the witches to Bloksbjerg (Bochen) it's the tallest mountain in Harzen Germany
Yeah, but I haven’t heard of the setting boats on fire down here 😄
When we moved to Norway in 1985 there was still a tradition of Midtsommar being a holiday somewhat officially in the area where I live, the southwest coast of Norway. The company I worked for allowed employees to take the day off but it was counted as one of your 21 days of vacation each year. On year my wife and I spent Midtsommar camped on a mountain side overlooking a large lake with bonfires on the lake beaches. We watched the sun go behind the mountains in the distance, then come out again an hour later.
In 1985 you had 25 days which is still the case
Sankthansaften are some of my fondetst childhood memories. My grandparents owned a farm out by the coast in south-west Norway. We would all gather there and make a big bonfire. One year one of our boathouses fell down during a big storm earlier in the year, we kept all the wood from the old boathouse and put it in the bonfire. As a kid I remember this evening beeing the most fun ever, because we would barbecue, gather all our friends and family so there would be almost 30 kids running around swimmng, fishing and having a great time. And since it is the lightest day of the year it woulds feel like the day never ended.
Christianity has incorporated all norse and germanian mythology religious holidays in all of Europe !!
Yeah. Many in the north including me have Yule tree, misteltoe, go yulebukk, giving gifts around Jul or Christmas/ Xmas. And by doing so gets less christian, getting countered from within out. Fun fact the christian god have a name its Yaweh ( NOT Jehovas ). Yaweh was the last only allowed ( war ) god to be worshipped in ancient Israel around the times it got invaded. And at a time before it when the first jewish scriptures, torah laws were written down they tried to wipe out any tracecthat God/ Yaweh had a wife Godess named Asherah. There you go. I might have some details incorrect. Then again search it up
@@odinulveson9101 The whole concept of "Hell" is also just a demonisation of "Hel" and "invented" by Christians a scare tactic for the serfs.
It corrupted something good into something horrible.
Edit: "Hel" is from Norse mythology, for those who missed the context
Slinningsbålet 2021 (Bonfire Ålesund ) - th-cam.com/video/zWZnHqHuydg/w-d-xo.html
In Sweden it is midsommer and in Finland it is Juhannus
Some of these celebrations are not just older than Christianity, but older than God. This is particularly true for Yule and Midsummer. I would bet my life that these times were celebrated in Norway ten thousand years ago. Because for us it is very difficult to imagine a time without time, but time is a fairly modern invention. Before time, sunlight was extremely important and they would absolutely notice that it was getting darker or lighter. I love to go hammocking in the forrest in the autumn during thunder, because it really is an otherworldly experience. It is completely dark and then for a split second, you can see the entire forrest as if it was the middle of the day and then it goes dark. And then there's an enormous bang. I truly understand why this causes religion.
The concept of God has arguably been around since the dawn of man actually. There's evidence to suggest that humanity has had these notions since before 50,000 BC.
@@johannlothe God specifically refers to the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and is 2500 years old. You don't capitalize the concept of a god, because it is just a word and not a non-name.
Bonfires have long traditions in scandinavia and also in the british isles.
We have Sankt Hans aften in Denmark as well😊
Summer solstice is celebrated around Europe I think, in different ways. The Norweigan and Danish St Hans feels like a mix of Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night) and Midsummer. Walpurgis is also around in different forms in different countries.
I would also like to mention that we also have another important holiday in Oslo, and that is 4 July. Then close to 10,000 gather at Norway's trade fair in Lillestrøm, with their Am cars, a convoy is also driven to the center of Oslo, and many take the trip up to Frognerparken where Americans who live in Norway celebrate the 4th of July. This has happened in recent years. And it's great fun to be a part of.
That is true. Many Norwegians do love USA and American cars, and join with US expats living in Norway to celebrate independence day.
Its still about the summer solistice!
However Tyler.. you still need to go to Norway, to understand!
For 17 may.. in Oslo all the bunads and waiving to the royal family, to Sankt Hansaften!
It's religious(/Christian) as in the sense that the Church slapped St John's name to the celebration when/after Norway was Christianized in the 11th century :P It definitely was originally a pagan/Norse celebration.
I guess it could resemble your 4th of July celebration, albeit without the fireworks :P
It’s the longest day of the year 🚤🏄🍻🍟🍔 and today it’s nice and sunny with lots of boats on the Oslofjord it’s so beautiful. It’s the night the sun highest on the sky so it’s only dark for a couple of hours ☀️🔥🌏, sadly it will now get darker and darker until 22 December when it turns again to get lighter for every day up until 23/6 2025.
This is much older than Christianity. Alot of europe do this...sweden poland,ukrane,russia and more
When it comes to bonfires on Sankt hans, you have to apply to the authorities for permission to burn bonfires, as this happens in the summer, which can be both hot and dry. That is why it is easiest to get bonfires approved by the sea. But there have been years when you haven't been able to light a fire at all. As it has simply been too dry in nature.
In Sandefjord, they also celebrate with a boat convoy, which goes from the center of Sandefjord, out into the fjord, and one year we saw fourteen bonfires along the sea, which was really great. And there were an incredible number of boats in the convoy, I think there were close to a thousand boats.
why isnt there any part where it explains that slinningsbåle is build up by teens 😂 like from 13-20 year olds, 30-40 teens/young adults building it. also theys sooo much drinking with teens.
imo shouldve shown clip from the tallest or at least a few years back, cuz that looked old(?)
it's basically the norwegian day for BBQing and drink beer I guess for young adults / friend groups
Look for a video on building the Slinning Bonfire, it is a good view, I see someone has put a link to it further down
A few years ago we could put anything on the bonfire, and people would use the opportunity to clean out their houses. Fortunately now we only get to burn virgin woods.
St. Hans Aften (Evening) is an ancient celebration to the longest day in the year. It's about keeping evil spirits away. Apparently St. Hans is the evening they find it easiest to bother humans. Not sure what they do to be honest ... posses like vampire etc maybe.
It’s celebrated the longest summer day of the year and is celebrated as the summer solstice👌 Christianity stole the day and claimed it as st. Johns eve.
As a kid i remember celebrating it with bbq if the weather allows and a bonfire with marshmallows. Just hanging out enjoying the time spent together and kids playing.
Wow ! I didn't know Norway and other nordic countries celebrated St-John-Baptist day. In the province of Québec (Canada), Saint-John-Baptist Day is celebrated on the 24th of june and it is our National Day. The festivities almost equal those of the 4th of July in the USA. Parades, Quebec flags everywhere (so beautiful!), big shows, fireworks and we used to finish the festivities with big bonfires (not as big as yours though) but they had to put a stop to it because some stupid drunks people would try to jump over it and ended up falling into it (I know, wtf!).
Oh wow. I didn't except my little hometown, Flekkefjord, to be namedropped in the video. Huh, I guess it makes sense though.
I'm from the south of Norway. We were always out in a boat in the evening watching the different bonfires. Diff part of the town competed in having the biggest bonfire. So for me its very connected to "boating".
We burned witches on these bonfires before
Sounds like fun.
When I was a kid, St. hans was a celebrated eve. Us kids raun aoround to gather things for the bonfire - and people gave whatever they wanted to get rid of. The bonfires was really big. At our tradition, is was for chasing spirits and witches, and to mark that there was a chair on the top, end one person was there when we lighted the fire, sitting for some time before escaping - like a witch that waas shased away. Families brought their grills for BBQ, there was traditionally a soccer match between us kids and the grown ups. Also grown up had a beer or three in the celebration. Nowadays everything is safety oriented, and one have some official bonfires. You cannot compare the celebration to how it was.
Every Norwegian celebrate. Mosltly with frinds or family.
Depends on where you live. Lots of people here in Oslo just watch it on TV. Some go watching some bonfire, but lots of people have other things to do.
@@TullaRask Yep. I used to celebrate this as a child, but at some point it just stopped being a thing. I live a bit inland, so we celebrated next to a small lake in the forest. It must be at least 30 years since I took part in a celebration like this.
It's the other way around...
Christianity took Pagan celebrations and turned them into their own religious days...
It doesn't mean Saint John was "actually" born on that day (like Jesus wasn't actually born on the 25th of December) but to erase the Pagan celebrations, that's what they did...
We also have São João in Portugal, especially in the North.
Sankthansaften is the evening before St. John the baptist's birthday as he was born 6 months before Jesus on Xmas Eve. So 24th June is the day of John Baptist.
The day before, the 23rd June is St. John's eve and we do BBQ or eat cured meats and sour cream porridge, depending on where you are in the world.
The Catholic church celebrates St. John on the 24th, and Lutheran church used to celebrate it, but now it's mostly if 24th is on a Sunday we celebrate 24th June in the church.
On the 23rd in the evening we make a bonfire at the seashore and many people use to drive around to watch them. It has many different traditions, depending on where you are.
We celebrate it in Sweden too. It's just called midsommar or Midsommarafton here.
It's mostly a remaining pagan holiday for celebrating the summer solstice.
I've only seen boats set on fire twice here in Gondor. So it's not a big tradition here.
I like to think that we are better than the swedes in anything, but when it comes to midsummer (st.Hans/Jonsok) celebration, they are in a league of their own. It's a big thing in the whole country. They dress up, eat, drink and party all night. They have even kept the original name of the tradition, without bringing anything christian into it.
They don't have bonfires because when Christianity was introduced, bonfires on this day was concidered heathen, so it was forbidden. Luckely we managed to keep the bonfires, but we lost the name and meaning.
Instead of bonfires, the swedes decorate a big pole which they dance and play around all through the night.
The reason It's such an important celebration in Norway (and probably in the rest of Scandinavia) is because it was one of the most important celebrations in Ore-christian Scandinavia, . The day that Sol, the Old Norse name of the sun Goddess, had her longest day, and it in a way started the season of harvest.
There's a movie called Midtsommar which, even though it's in Sweden, is an otherwise accurate depiction of how these things usually go
😂very accurate 😋 Are you talking about the horror film or is there another one😅?
The Swedes have some different traditions than we have in Norway. It is their big day of celebration, so a film from Sweden will not give an accurate picture of what is happening in Norway. They also celebrate the nearest weekend, as far as I know, so they can sleep in the next day. Here in Norway we have 17 May, which is our big party day.
@@mari97216 The Florence Pugh one. Feels like a home video
@@magnusalexander2965
The horror film yeah😆 accurate depiction. Drinking blood and all that.
She did not mention that here in north since it dont get dark at all that night, it is really importent to have stuff that makes smoke on the bonfire. So most smoke have the best bonfire. Luckely tons of people took to heart that it should be something that also made a good smell. Remember when i was a small kid, that tons of people used it to get rid of junk, and they did trow anything on the bonfire. And the smoke was horrible! Wile i remember that since we had summer vication as children that day, we did have to go harves heather in big bags for the bonfire. Because that would scare of Wiches with a good smell. And you could see the smoke so you knew there was i fire.
Also, remember this is a social event, so we're all drinking.
Not all :)
know you react to videos about norway on this channel but you seemed fascinated by bonfires, in much of the rest of northern europe we have big bonfires on may 30th when we celebrate valborg, originally to scare away witches and evil in the shift between the seasons, then Christianity has come in and tried to take over the holiday, as they always tried to do with pre-Christian holidays, we continue to light our bonfires, without caring much about what Christianity tries to make us think and believe.
I've made a short playlist about Walborg for you, even if you don't react to it I think you'll appreciate watching it.
warm greetings from Sweden
th-cam.com/play/PLwgp7N6OQ-lCOzWmGWAQSOmU_bUYIrHK3.html&si=BC6wO9VLr1-hfxxQ
Americans cant have the responcibility to have a bonfire? Still almost anyone can carry guns... Strange
As far as I know, this tradition is only in Norway, Denmark, and Poland.
They celenrate in Baltikum too.
Latvia for sure.
And Sweden and Finland. In Sweden this is a big thing
Finland they pretty much closed down everything to celebrate all weekend
Nope. This tradition is in other countries too. For example, in Latvia it's, I think, the biggest celebration of the year. They even have 23rd and 24st June free (red days in calendar). Before Sankthans people are brewing beer (who can), making cheese, decorating houses with birch trees and meadow flowers , making flower crowns (for girls, women) and oak leave crowns for man. There are bonfires everywhere, big concerts everywhere with dancing and singing. In some concerts it's even possible to get free entrance if you have a national costume/ "bunad" and a flower/oak crown. Who has sauna on country side, they go to sauna, are swimming, making barbeque. There all always lot of food. Families come together to celebrate. And if a family has a man whose name is"Jānis" (Probably same as John, Jan, Johann etc) then it's even better because he is often the main person. And there is a tradition that on Sankthans nobody sleeps. 😂 Kids don't count, they can sleep. And there are a lot of meanings and traditions around Midsummer/ Sankthans in Latvia.
We are at work, but many has allready summervacation. We used to have the last day at school before summer that day. We gathering in the afternoon and eat good summerfood, and watch the bonfire. It is celebrated cause it is the longest day of the year. It is just an ordinary evening, and work next day, so not all are celebrating
We celebrate Sct Hans in Denmark too. But its not a christian celebration. We used to celebrate the longest day of the year hack ind old tim s before the christians stole the day. We have bonfires too in Denmark, but you dont get the day of.
I love sankthans but I forget it every year 😅 don't remember how many years since I last went to the beach to see the bonfire. Probably more than a decade.
When I was a kid, we always had a bonfire on the local football field. People threw old chairs and other furniture in the fire. It was really exciting 😊 I don’t think there’s bonfires in Oslo anymore , because of wildfire hazard. We don’t get time off from work on St.hansaften. It’s kinda sad, because today’s the brightest day of the year, from now on it gets gradually darker.
No one is stupid enough to set fire to a boat and drag it through the streets anymore. Especially with old wooden buildings.
We celebrated the longest day since pagan times. The tradition is strongest in the southern coastal regions, where friends and family tend to stay up and drink and talk all night around the bonfire. Record breaking communal bonfires didn't use to be a thing until lately.
Christianity appropriated the festivities and moved the date 2 days off the shortest night. They did the same with midwinter and Christmas, or Jul as we keep calling it in Norway.
Exactly, because summer solstice is really on the 21st. of June (most people seem to think it's on the 23rd) and I think you meant the longest night.
it is not the smoke from the fires that is the worst, it is the sparks that can ignite fires in densely populated areas
And to ad to that the bonfire is just a tradition to keep the light of the summer nights longer
Huge bonfires ... I live in Westlands in Norway and have seen some very large bonfires to celebrate this day.
eh, i would not call it a holiday xD it lasts one day, not even a day
Your Norwegian is getting pretty good :)
It's really the other way around. During the bronze age and up to early middle ages the celebration was for midsummer. But then later christianity co-opted it to help integration with the local population. And so it was transferred to St. John. Now in modern times it has reverted back to its original intent. Mostly because Norwegians as a whole don't consider themselves christian or religious.
It's sommersolverv.
The largest one is in my home town, and we held the record for biggest bonfire for years and years. Used to topple over all the time while we attended the celebrations. Not super safe.
I live in Flekkefjord where the boat gets lighted up. Would you like to see tonight?
It's celebrated in Sweden and Geece as well
Midsummer Eve.
Thank you 🔥🇧🇻🥣
Its start at ca 6 pm
I don't know why we call this day "Saint Hans" eve
Hans is a short form of Johannes, and so is John.
/ester
Ålesund ❤
YOU most see vid påske
The bonfire last in this video (around 15.07) is the record holder at 40.25 meters.
Nope. They broke that record in 2016. 47,396 meters.
@@hanfrekkejveln4111 Wow, that's great. but i was only referring to the bonfire Tyler was talking about earlier in the video. But I will be sure to try to find a video about that. that is something I have to see. Thanks.
I would but this year Elden Ring DLC came out. And it's OK. Nobody complained
Wonder how many countries do this. ? Here it's all over by 19.30 or so as they aim it at toddlers. But I'm used to it starting at 21.00 and carry on till midnight or longer. In Odense the fire was way bigger than anything seen here and was still burning when I left at 4,40 in the morning. It was a party like no other. All the teens got naked and drove around the fire on mopeds and some really cool girls had a running around the fire naked competition. Nice boobs and muffs all around. 😅
Holland also has big bonfires. I believe it is in The Hague between 2 towns on New Year's Eve. It is a completion between the two towns as to who can make the biggest one. Because of local regulations and damage caused by embers to buildings and cars, it may be coming to an end. Someone correct me if I have made any errors.
The Norwegian name St. Hans is a short form of Johannes, which has two short forms, John and Hans. In Norway, both short forms are associated with Midsummer, Jonsok and St. Hans. In the past Jonsok was used, now I think St. Hans is used the most, but it varies with the parts of the country.
Where I live on the south coast of Norway, it is a big day for those who own a boat. We who live along the water, but don't have a big boat ourselves, follow the boats while we barbecue and have a good time with the family. We live right at the river's outlet, and when there is a lot of wind most people want to go up in the river. Then there is a steady stream of boats that are pounding against the current here with us.
Don't think I have ever seen someone light a boat on fire before. For years me, my åarents and soster had a tradition to go to one of my neighboors and have a bbq there and look at the bonfire with him and hos wife, and several other neighboors also came over there to do the same. The neighboor that owned the property alsp had some games that people could participate in. He did stop with the games when he got older though. But we still went up there on St. Hans many times after that none the less ^^
I am from Norway
yep us norwegians take pride in our societys and small events like these.
I was in Ålesund last night and watched Slinningsbålet 😁
.the highest bonfire was 47,38 metre not 40
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@arildtronstadhagen4337
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- According to the article I read the tallest bonfire which was credited to be the tallest man made bonfire at the time reached '47,700 meters' or '156 feet 5 and (24200/25400) inches' tall made by Norway in 2016.
The record has gotten beat a few times since then, but the official record now stands at a whooping '60,640 meters' or '198 feet 11 and (10200/25400) inches' tall made by Austria in 2019.
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@@BizzyX78 Built with cranes lmao. So no, they don't hold that record.
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@hanfrekkejveln4111
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- Well, then...
Tell 'Guinness' that because they adjudicated the event back in 2019.
-
By the way...
You know there's a difference between built by hand and man made, right?
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Well pronounced, Tyler!! 👏👏🎉
Old wood boat’s
Just don't thow a can with six liters of Diesel into the bonfire, as happened here last year :)
Haha, what?!
If you really want to learn about this, check out how Sweden does this.
This is a Norway channel tho. Makes no sense to check out how Sweden does it.
I have never celebrated this day in my life, and im 26. It's just a regular day for me.
Nah.. We don't celebrate St. Hans aften. We just enjoy the weather and our daily routine, but it happens that we go an😂see the bonfire. Because it's everywhere where I live.
We are celebrating midsummer. Sant John's is just a name
Im norvigan and I also have no idea what it is lol😂😂
It puzzles me how miss informed these youtube information channels are. It's not that hard to get the correct informaton... 🙄
Skt. Hans in Denmark has even bigger bonfires. Its a pagan tradition celebrating the summer solstace. The church just put their skt. there to make it Christian
No it does not, since the bonfires in Norway (especially Slinningsbålet) has a tradition of beating world record after world record and it's all made by hand, too.
I see both Swedes and Danes claiming they "have bigger bonfires" when that is, in fact, empirically false 😅😅
Great video Tyler, keep `em coming!!!! ☝
"Ah, that's why it's in the water."
You have to get up really early to get anything past Tyler; maybe as early as 10:00 P.M.
THAT is the "biggest fire [you've] ever seen?!"
And how is that strange?
Of course it is, it is the biggest bonfire in the world!! ....how stupid can you get.......
What are you, a bonfire connoisseur or something?
Of course it is, it is the biggest one in the world!!!!! ....how stupid can you be....
Nearly 2 years in, and he's still oblivious to Viking funerals, even though most people would've been aware long before doing a Norway specific channel just fro, you know, being alive and conscious. Alas, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler.
Give him some slack. I'm 55, Norwegian, and have no ideas about the Viking funerals. Why? Because it does not interest me at all.
Unlike what you seem to believe, Viking funeral pyres WASN'T the norm, getting buried was. That's why we find Viking graves all over the place. Where I live, construction work gets halted all the time because some new Viking grave is discovered.
Not all were buried at sea. There were also ones buried in their ship. On land. A lot of rocks over, Ive seen several of these.
Are you sure that you went to college/university? Bonfires are a long tradition.
When I was at Stanford, we had a bonfire leading up to the annual football game against Cal Berkeley.
Imagine going to Stanford, and ending up a bat shit crazy negative stalker cat lady.
This is just for fun you know, it's not like the end of the world, but of course us has to be the best in everything ;)
Lol namedropping universities. Like you have education beyond Spite High 😂😂😂
Has he ever claimed he went to university? What a random name dropping comment! Stanford huh😂.
its even biger in sweden ... our one is small vs them but yeah its in evening " aften " .. we do BBQ and drink a little ... but .. thats about it :)
Please, don't speak on my behalf again 🙄 Me and my family and friends, celebrate St.Hansaften just like swedes celebrate midsommar....We have a big bonefire, we eat good food( Vi griller) We have plenty of alcohol 😂 We have music and we dance and we take a swim whatever the weather and we celebrate all night 🥳 So don't speak on other people's behalf 🙄
Slinningsbålet regularly beats (their own) world records. In case you were referring just to the bonfire, then that is _also_ wrong.