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The Bonfires of Saint John is a popular festival celebrated between June 19 and June 24 in Spain. The festival is considered the most important in the city of Alicante, but is celebrated in several other cities and towns across Spain. The festival consists of people gathering wood and other objects to burn on a bonfire, often sharing hot chocolates while teenagers jump over the small fires.

Before 1928 the bonfires of Saint John had been celebrated in Alicante as it had been elsewhere in Europe: by burning old pieces of furniture on the night of Saint John on June 24. The Bonfires festival was originated in 1928. Jose María Py felt that Alicante did not have an important fiesta, and adapted a Valencian festival known as the "fallas". The festival would ultimately become the most important cultural event in Alicantinian society. Bonfires are organised into commissions which fundraise and host the other events throughout the year. A member of a commission is called a foguerer. A commission usually represents one area, a place or an avenue in the city, but there are many areas with numerous commissions. (For example, Carolinas has five commissions: Carolinas Altas, Carolinas Bajas, Foguerer-Carolinas, Doctor Bergez-Carolinas and Bola de Oro.) In Alicante there are 86 commissions. Archives • Read more...