Ligo and Jani Midsummer

Ligo and Jani mark the midsummer solstice, and it is the great festival of the Latvian year. People leave the cities for the countryside, light bonfires that must burn until sunrise, wear wreaths of oak leaves and flowers, eat caraway cheese and drink beer, and sing the short refrain ligo late into the shortest night.

What you actually see

• Bonfires - fires lit on high ground and kept burning until dawn.
• Wreaths - oak-leaf crowns for the men named Janis, flower wreaths for the women.
• Jani cheese and beer - the caraway cheese and beer that belong to the night.
• Singing and staying awake - the tradition of seeing the sun rise together.

When to go

The nights of 23 to 24 June, and nowhere better than out in the countryside where the fires and songs belong. Many Latvians spend it with family, so a rural guesthouse or an organised event is the way in for visitors.

Honest expectations

This is a family and countryside celebration more than a public spectacle, so the cities can feel empty rather than festive on the night. To experience it properly you need to be somewhere rural, ideally invited or booked in. The next morning much of the country is asleep or on holiday.

Nearby

Any rural region does it well; the manor houses and open-air museum around Riga host organised events for visitors.