en the fire is burning low, they throw
the stones into it; and when it is nearly out, they make crosses on
their legs and then go straightway and bathe in the sea.[546] In Cos the
lads and lasses dance round the bonfires on St. John's Eve. Each of the
lads binds a black stone on his head, signifying that he wishes to
become as strong as the stone. Also they make the sign of the cross on
their feet and legs and jump over the fire.[547] On Midsummer Eve the
Greeks of Macedonia light fires after supper in front of their gates.
The garlands, now faded, which were hung over the doors on May Day, are
taken down and cast into the flames, after which the young folk leap
over the blaze, fully persuaded that St. John's fire will not burn
them.[548] In Albania fires of dry herbage are, or used to be, lit
everywhere on St. John's Eve; young and old leap over them, for such a
leap is thought to be good for the health.[549]

[The Midsummer fires in America.]

From the Old World the midsummer fires have been carried across the
Atlantic to America. In Brazil people jump over the fires of St. John,
and at this season they can take hot coals in their mouths without
burning themselves.[550] In Bolivia on the Eve of St. John it is usual
to see bonfires lighted on the hills and even in the streets of the
capital La Paz. As the city stands at the bottom of an immense ravine,
and the Indians of the neighbourhood take a pride in kindling bonfires
on heights which might seem inaccessible, the scene is very striking
when the darkness of night is suddenly and simultaneously lit up by
hundreds of fires, which cast a glare on surrounding objects, producing
an effect at once weird and picturesque.[551]

[The Midsummer fires among the Mohammedans of Morocco and Algeria.]

The custom of kindling bonfires on Midsummer Day or on Midsummer Eve is
widely spread among the Mohammedan peoples of North Africa, particularly
in Morocco and Algeria; it is common both to the Berbers and to many of
the Arabs or Arabic-speaking tribes. In these countries Midsummer Day
(the twenty-fourth of June, Old Style) is called [Arabic: _l'ansara_].
The fires are lit in the courtyards, at cross-roads, in the fields, and
sometimes on the threshing-floors. Plants which in burning give out a
thick smoke and an aromatic smell are much sought after for fuel on
these occasions; among the plants used for the purpose are giant-fennel,
thyme, rue, chervil-seed, camomile, geranium, a