Pagan rites ....known as la Fete de Saint Jean (the feast of Saint John) a successor to Midsummer's Day celebrations marking the start of summer.  Our local canoe club organised a soiree, with eating and drinking, of course, and a torch-lit procession of canoes down the river.  Once the canoes landed a young person lit the  fire.  You can imagine the heat by the distance everyone stood back.