Jāņi and Līgo: Riga's midsummer festival, honestly explained

The festival that defines Latvian cultural identity

Of all the national festivals and traditions in the Baltic states, Jāņi is arguably the one most tightly connected to a people’s sense of identity. The celebration is pre-Christian in origin — the ancient Baltic tribes (Latvians, Lithuanians) practised solstice rituals centred on fire, fertility of the land, and the power of the midsummer night before the Christian missionaries arrived and provided a saint’s day overlay (John’s Day, June 24). Unlike many similar European festivals where the original character has been largely absorbed by Christian rebranding, Latvian Jāņi retains its pagan character prominently and proudly.

For 50 years of Soviet occupation, Jāņi continued — it could not be entirely suppressed because the need to mark the solstice and celebrate the harvest cycle was too deeply embedded. It became one of the quiet acts of cultural resistance. Today, with 30+ years of independence, Jāņi is celebrated with an intensity that connects modern Latvians to something genuinely ancestral.

For visitors, this translates into one of the most authentic cultural experiences in northern Europe — if you can participate. This guide explains the festival in detail and provides an honest account of what it means for Riga and for your travel plans.

What Jāņi is

The mythology

The central figure of Jāņi is Jānis — not primarily the Christian St John, but an older figure from Latvian folk mythology associated with fertility, strength, and the midsummer abundance of nature. Jānis appears in the traditional Latvian folk songs (dainas) as a horseman riding through the countryside on midsummer night, blessing crops, livestock, and households. Anyone named Jānis celebrates their name day on June 24 — and in Latvia, Jānis is one of the most common male names.

Ligo is both the name of the day before Jāņi and a word with ancient Baltic roots associated with swaying, festival songs, and the movement of wind through rye grain. The Ligo songs (Līgo dziesmas) — a specific musical tradition of two-part call-and-response folk songs sung only around the solstice — are among the oldest and most distinctive elements of Latvian folk heritage.

The traditions

Flower crowns (vainadziņi): Women and girls wear flower wreaths woven from fresh seasonal flowers — the specific flower composition varies by region and personal tradition, but summer flowers (clover, chamomile, daisies, peonies) are standard. The crown symbolises the fertility of the summer earth.

Oak leaf wreaths (ozollapas vainags): Men and boys wear wreaths of oak leaves, sometimes with fern — the oak is the sacred tree in ancient Baltic religion. Jānis specifically is associated with the oak.

Jāņi cheese (Jāņu siers): A specific caraway-seed cheese made for the festival — yellow, firm, slightly crumbly, with a distinctive flavour from the caraway. Every Latvian household makes or buys Jāņu siers for Jāņi. It is eaten throughout the night alongside rye bread and butter.

Jāņi beer (Jāņu alus): A slightly sweet, lightly hopped, sometimes herbal farmhouse-style beer brewed specifically for the festival. Commercial versions are produced by Latvian breweries; homemade versions are made by families with more complex herbal recipes. The beer is drunk throughout the night.

Bonfire (ugunskurs): The central ritual. A large bonfire is built and lit at dusk (which in Riga’s case is around 10:30pm at the solstice). The bonfire must burn through the night; the tradition requires that participants stay up to watch it burn and to ensure the fire lasts until sunrise. Games are played around the fire; folk songs are sung in the traditional Ligo call-and-response pattern.

The fern flower myth: A persistent folk belief (pre-Christian in origin) states that at precisely midnight on Jāņi, the fern flowers — normally ferns do not flower, which gives the myth its magic. Anyone who finds a flowering fern at midnight will have luck, wisdom, or hidden treasure revealed to them. Young couples traditionally go into the forest at midnight to search for the fern flower — the tradition serves as a sanctioned framework for young people to spend private time together in the midsummer forest.

Staying up through the white night: The night of June 23–24 in Latvia is never fully dark. At Riga’s latitude, there are only about 3–4 hours when the sky approaches darkness; a persistent orange and pink glow sits on the northern horizon from 11pm until roughly 3am, when the sun begins to rise again. The tradition of staying awake through this near-endless night is central to Jāņi — you are meant to witness the sun set and rise, ensuring the cycle continues.

What happens in Riga on Jāņi

The city empties

The defining feature of Jāņi for anyone visiting Riga on June 23–24 is the emptying of the city. Latvians leave for the countryside in enormous numbers — to family farms, to friends’ properties, to rural festival venues. By the afternoon of June 23, the usually busy streets of central Riga are noticeably quieter. By the evening, the city has the character of a place that has shut down for a major national celebration.

What is closed

On June 23 (Līgo) and June 24 (Jāņi), practically everything closes:

• Museums (all major state museums closed on the national holiday)
• Shops (most retail closed, including supermarkets in some areas)
• Attractions (Turaida Castle, the Ethnographic Museum, and other day-trip destinations closed)
• Many restaurants and cafes (the ones that serve mainly local customers)

What stays open: hotels, some tourist-oriented restaurants in the Old Town, a small number of convenience stores.

If you are in Riga on June 23–24 expecting a normal tourist day with museum visits, Old Town exploration at your leisure, and diverse restaurant options — you will be disappointed. Plan accordingly.

What to do in Riga if you are there on Jāņi

Option 1: Join a organised Jāņi celebration. Several tourism operators organise countryside Jāņi events for visitors — a bus from Riga, a rural property with a bonfire, flower crown making, Jāņi food and beer, folk singing, and participation in the full overnight tradition. This requires advance booking (3+ months) but is the single best way to experience the festival as a visitor.

Option 2: Find any open cafe or bar in Old Town and experience the midsummer white night atmosphere. Some bars stay open; the Old Town in the midsummer twilight at 11pm is extraordinarily beautiful even with few people around.

Option 3: Walk in the parks. Bastejkalns, the canal parks, and Esplanade are free and accessible. The midsummer night is warm; the white night sky; the smell of summer city parks. For travellers who are observant rather than participatory, this is its own experience.

How to participate as a visitor

Rural Jāņi experiences

Several Latvian rural tourism operators and guesthouses organise Jāņi events that are accessible to international visitors. A typical offering:

• Transport from Riga to a countryside property (typically 40–90 km from the city)
• Welcome with Jāņi beer and cheese
• Guided flower crown and oak wreath making
• Traditional Jāņi food (grilled meats, rye bread, Jāņu siers)
• Bonfire ceremony with Ligo singing
• Option to stay overnight and return in the morning
• Price: approximately €60–120 per person depending on inclusions

These experiences are consistently reported by visitors as highlights of their Latvia trip — precisely because they offer access to something that is not designed for tourism but is shared with tourists by Latvians who want the tradition understood.

Searching “Jāņi celebration for tourists Riga” or “Latvian midsummer experience” typically returns the current operators offering such experiences. The Latvian Tourism Development Agency (latvia.travel) also maintains a list.

Stay at a farm or rural guesthouse

Some rural guesthouses (sētas) in the Vidzeme and Zemgale regions invite overnight guests to participate in their family Jāņi celebration. This is a more intimate experience — you are joining a family rather than a curated tourism event. The Latvian Tourism website and platforms like booking.com for rural accommodation sometimes indicate which properties offer Jāņi participation.

The music: Ligo songs

The Ligo dziesmas (Ligo songs) are one of the most distinctive elements of Jāņi. The tradition of two-part call-and-response folk songs, alternating between “Ligo!” refrains, creates a specific sound that Latvians recognise immediately as inseparable from the midsummer night.

The songs are sung all evening and into the night around the bonfire. A lead voice introduces a verse; the group responds with “Ai, Ligo! Ai, Ligo! Ai Jāņa diena!” (traditionally). The melodies are ancient — many of the dainas from which Ligo songs draw are recorded in the 18th-century folklore collections of Krisjanis Barons. The recordings that exist of Ligo singing from the 19th and early 20th centuries show remarkable continuity with current practice.

For visitors who want some introduction to the music before attending a Jāņi event, recordings of Ligo songs are widely available on Spotify and YouTube under “Latviesu tautasdziesmas” or “Ligo dziesmas.”

Practical information

Accommodation: Book 3–4 months ahead for June 23–24 in Riga. Rural guesthouses for countryside Jāņi even earlier.

Transport: If you want to travel from Riga to the countryside for Jāņi independently (rather than on a organised tour), book transport well in advance — rental cars are in high demand, and bus connections to rural areas reduce on the holiday.

What to bring to a Jāņi celebration: Light summer clothing for the evening (temperatures 15–20°C overnight), a layer for after midnight when it cools, insect repellent (the midsummer forest at midnight has mosquitoes), and comfortable shoes for uneven terrain around a bonfire.

Making the most of the days around Jāņi

The days immediately before and after Jāņi are excellent for Riga sightseeing: June 20–22 has the solstice light in full force with normal city operation; June 25+ returns to summer with the holiday behind. A guided Old Town walking tour on June 21 or 22 gives you the midsummer light at its peak with all sights open. The traditional pirts sauna ritual is an excellent evening activity on June 20–22 — combining the pirts tradition with the approaching midsummer night creates a specifically Latvian experience that is uniquely resonant in this season.

Honest tips

Do not be in Riga without a plan on June 23–24. The most common visitor mistake is arriving in Riga mid-June, finding it beautiful, and then discovering on June 23 that everything is closed and the city is empty. Check your dates.

If you have flexibility, arrive June 25. By June 25 the holiday is over, the city reactivates, and summer is still in full swing. You miss Jāņi but you do not deal with the closed-city problem.

If you specifically want Jāņi, book early. The organised countryside experiences for visitors are genuinely excellent but have limited capacity — the better operators sell out 2–3 months ahead.

Frequently asked questions

What does “Ligo” mean?

Ligo is an ancient Latvian/Baltic word associated with swaying, movement, and festival song. It appears in the refrain of the traditional midsummer folk songs (“Ligo! Jāņa diena!”) and has been adopted as the name of the holiday eve (June 23 = Līgo diena).

Can you buy Jāņi cheese (Jāņu siers) outside of June?

Jāņu siers (the caraway-seed Midsummer cheese) is available in Latvian supermarkets year-round as a domestic product. But in June, especially in the week before Jāņi, it is omnipresent — in supermarkets, markets, and stalls throughout the country.

What is the difference between Jāņi and Midsommar in Sweden?

Both celebrate the summer solstice and both have pre-Christian roots. Swedish Midsommar focuses on the maypole, flower crowns, and communal dancing. Latvian Jāņi centres on the bonfire, folk singing, and the white night vigil. The emotional weight of Jāņi in Latvia is arguably greater — it serves as a more intensely national cultural identity marker than Midsommar in Sweden.

Is it safe to visit the countryside for Jāņi as a solo traveller?

Yes — the organised tourism events are safe, well-managed, and specifically designed for visitors including solo travellers. Joining a rural family celebration requires an invitation from a Latvian contact. Solo travellers without local connections are best served by the organised events.