[1] As Estonian Open Air Museum describes it, "this is a time when nature is full of power and thousands of bonfires are set on fire throughout the country to celebrate the beginning of summer and ensure good luck".

There are several other less known names for jaanipäev in Estonian, some of them are: suvine pööripäev, suvepööripäev, püäripääv, päevakäänak, päiväkäänäk, päiväkäändjäne, päevapesa, pesapäev and suured päevad.

During the transition to the re-establishment of Estonia's de facto independence, jaanipäev became an unofficial holiday, with many workplaces closing down.

Also on this night, single people can follow a detailed set of instructions involving different flowers to see whom they are going to marry.

Jaanipäev marks a change in the farming year, specifically the break between the completion of spring sowing, summer hay-making, and the hard work and activities related to do the day.

As in the past, some Christians still refer to the day as St. John's eve to minimize the influence of previous pagan beliefs and rituals and emphasize their Christian cultural and spiritual beliefs, same with jaanipäev that contains lighting the bonfires and jumping over them, eating, drinking, singing and dancing all through the night, predicting the future and some other romantic traditions.