Nostalgia and traditions

My 13 year is right in the middle of teenage mood swings and emotional turmoil. We've had many conversations, so we all know what is happening and to take a breath, listen and love one another. She is going through a spell of nostalgia currently and is listening to 90's and 2000s hits, which definitely shows us as parents, that we are getting old.

Reflecting on my teenager's nostalgia, I can't help but feeling a bit nostalgic myself.

Today is St. John's Day. Growing up in Germany we had lots of traditions around that day, deeply rooted in paganism.

For St. John's Day or Johannistag, the local volunteer fire department would oversee a huge bonfire. This was the case for every city and village in the area I grew up. Being raised in Catholic Church, a lot of the traditions and church festivities were heavily inter-connected with pagan holidays and traditions. This is also the case with St. John's Day or Johannistag.

Local youth would come together and build a huge pyre. In some cases, these were extremely intricate. In many cases this included donations from local farms, households and churches. Then, on St. John's Eve, to celebrate both, St. John as well as the summer solstice, the pyre would be lit and the local community came together for the Johannisfeuer.

There was always lots of family time, play time, good food and community. Traditionally people would hold hands, and run through or jump over the fire as it started burning down late into the night and into the next Morning.

Growing up in a close-knit community, celebrating holidays and traditions, I can't help but feel nostalgic and missing family and friends on days like this.