This is one of my favourite events of the year as everyone dresses in white, heads to the beach and has a party. It happens during the summer solstice when the only option in the UK is to hang out with hippies at Stonehenge. Here on Mallorca I joined hundreds of locals at the nearest beach. It was a wonderfully warm night and we lit candles and had a picnic. It was clear that us 'foreigners' were amateurs at the whole things as there is a knack to preventing your candle blowing out - even on the balmiest of evenings. The trick is to dig a hole in the sand and cover your candle with an upturned paper cup.
Then food and wine flows until the fireworks start and everyone heads into the sea a
t midnight. My inexperience showed again at this point as I had forgotten to wear a bikini, but that didnt stop me. The water was warm...ish and people had floated flowers on it. I am not sure, but I think this may be in memory of people who have passed on. The idea is that you wash yourself clean of any sins and negativity that you have collected during the first six months of the year and prepare yourself for the next six. I was regretting not collecting more sins as I was about to get a clean slate...but hey...I've been busy working....maybe I can do something about that in the second half of 2008?????
