Saturday June 22 at the end of the afternoon, the “Feux de la Saint Jean” evening was held in Autoire in the village hall, given the weather conditions. Indeed, the feast of Saint John often rhymes with the fires of Saint-Jean. These are part of the Christian tradition, namely the feast of John the Baptist, June 24. This is generally close to the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, which occurs most frequently on June 21, exceptionally on June 19, rarely on June 20, and June 22. Thus, the summer solstice celebrated for a long time, originally linked to the cult of the sun, gave rise to solstice fires or solstitial fires. On this occasion in Autoire, it was in 2024, a convivial meal for 65 people, which was free for members of the Association Les Amis d’Autoire, “organizing power”, and €5 for the other guests.
Given the capricious weather, the “pagan fires” of the Middle Ages lit at the crossing points of the paths, in the fields, to prevent witches and magicians from passing through during the night, could not be implemented. Let us remember, at that time, we sometimes burned the herbs picked on Midsummer’s Day, against lightning, thunder, storms and it was thought to ward off demons and storms through these fumigations.” In Autoire nothing like it but a fire to cook the merguez, chipolatas, with herbs of Provence garnished with chips and salad. For dessert, each guest was invited to prepare one of their specialties which made for nice surprises. the evening .
