Chiakokonoba in Georgia: dates, meaning and how to experience it

By Mariam Lomidze, GTour desk · Fact-checked against the sources listed · Last checked 25 October 2026 · Editorial policy

What it is

Chiakokonoba (ჭიაკაკონობა) is a Georgian folk bonfire festival held on the evening before 7 July, the day the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Nativity of St John the Baptist (Natlismtsemeli). The word itself has no single agreed derivation: Georgian folklorists generally connect it to old regional terms for sparks or glowing embers, and some link the second half of the word to “kokona,” a dialect word for a small fire or ember-pile, but philologists continue to debate the exact root. What is not disputed is the custom itself — building a bonfire at dusk and jumping over it, usually three times, for luck, health and protection.

The celebration belongs to villagers, not to the church hierarchy. It is observed informally across rural Georgia — in Kakheti‘s vineyard villages, in Imereti, Guria, Racha and parts of Svaneti — and increasingly in Tbilisi‘s outlying settlements, wherever families, neighbours and children gather around an open fire. Because it coincides with the eve of a fixed Christian feast day but is itself a secular, orally transmitted custom with no liturgical text, scholars describe it as one of the clearest surviving examples in Georgia of a pre-Christian seasonal rite that was later absorbed into the church calendar rather than invented by it.

Historical background

• 4th century (traditionally 326 AD) — The Christianization of the kingdom of Kartli under King Mirian III fixed the Julian liturgical calendar that the Georgian Church still follows, placing the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist on 24 June, which corresponds to 7 July in the modern Gregorian calendar. Britannica
• Pre-Christian era — Georgian ethnographers describe midsummer fire rites among Caucasian agrarian communities intended to protect livestock and ripening crops, predating the arrival of Christianity.
• 18th century — According to Georgian lexicographers, vocabulary connected to “chiakokona” already appears in regional dialect records describing bonfire games timed to the eve of St John’s feast.
• 19th century — Georgian ethnographic collectors documented village bonfire-jumping in Kakheti, Imereti and Guria, recording short rhymes chanted by young people as they leapt over the flames.
• 1921–1991 — Under Soviet rule, church feasts were officially discouraged, but the bonfire custom persisted in villages as a secular midsummer pastime detached from its religious date.
• 1991 — Restoration of Georgian independence and religious freedom allowed open, public combination of the folk bonfire with attendance at the church liturgy for the Nativity of John the Baptist the following morning. Patriarchate of Georgia
• 2000s–present — The Georgian National Tourism Administration and Ministry of Culture list chiakokonoba among the country’s living rural customs promoted to visitors seeking authentic seasonal experiences. georgia.travel Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth

The overlap between a solar, agrarian fire ritual and a church feast is not unique to Georgia. Midsummer bonfires on the eve of St John the Baptist’s nativity are documented across much of Christian Europe, from Scandinavia to the Balkans, a pattern scholars attribute to the proximity of the feast to the summer solstice in the old Julian reckoning. In Georgia, the custom kept its own distinct local vocabulary, rhymes and village-level variation, surviving largely because it required no priest, no building, and no written liturgy — only dry wood, an open space and people willing to jump.

Today the practice is treated as cultural heritage rather than devotion. Rural municipalities and tourism boards describe it as part of the broader tapestry of Georgian seasonal customs alongside Berikaoba (spring carnival) and Lamproba (winter torch processions in Svaneti), each tied to a different point in the agricultural and liturgical year.

Meaning and traditions

At dusk on the eve of 7 July, villagers pile dry branches, thistle and brushwood into a bonfire, often in a courtyard, a village square or beside a field. As the fire burns down to manageable flames, people — most often young people and children, but increasingly entire families — take turns leaping over it, traditionally three times, believed to burn away illness, bad luck and the past year’s troubles while ensuring good health and a successful harvest. In some villages herbs or chamomile flowers are thrown onto the fire before jumping, and the cooled ash is later scattered over fields or livestock pens for fertility and protection.

Short rhyming verses are chanted while jumping; their exact wording differs from valley to valley and is passed down orally rather than fixed in any text, generally invoking health, a good harvest and protection from misfortune. There is no obligatory festive dish tied to chiakokonoba — the evening is more about the fire and the gathering than the table — though homemade bread, fruit and local wine are commonly shared among neighbours afterward. In Guria, the bonfire is sometimes followed by perkhuli, a traditional round dance; in Kakheti’s wine villages, bonfires are often lit near vineyards as a gesture of protection for the coming grape harvest; in Racha and parts of Svaneti, fires are set beside rivers or streams, with jumping sometimes combined with splashing water for good measure.

When it happens

Chiakokonoba is fixed to the eve of the Georgian Orthodox feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, celebrated on 24 June in the Julian calendar used by the Georgian Church, which falls on 7 July of the civil (Gregorian) calendar. In practice, bonfires are lit on the evening of 6 July. In 2026 this fell on 6 July; the next Chiakokonoba takes place on the evening of 6 July 2027. It is not a state public holiday in Georgia: offices, shops, banks and transport operate normally, and the celebration is marked informally by communities after the working day rather than observed as a day off.

Where to experience it

Chiakokonoba is best experienced in villages rather than cities, since Tbilisi offers little in the way of open fires or courtyard gatherings. Wine-growing villages in Kakheti, highland hamlets in Racha, and rural settlements in Imereti and Guria are reliable places to see bonfires lit in courtyards or village squares at dusk on 6 July. A visitor is likely to see a modest fire of branches and thistle, a cluster of neighbours and children, repeated jumping over the flames, laughter, and sometimes a shared bottle of wine and bread afterward rather than an organised performance. Because this is a private, neighbourhood custom rather than a staged event, visitors should ask permission before joining a fire or taking photographs, dress in clothing suitable for being near an open flame, and, if attending the church liturgy for the Nativity of John the Baptist the following morning, observe standard Georgian church etiquette: modest dress, head covering for women, and quiet behaviour inside the church.

Did you know

• The bonfire custom coincides with the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, echoing Midsummer Eve bonfire traditions found across much of Christian Europe.
• The Georgian Church’s 24 June feast date falls on 7 July in the civil calendar because of the thirteen-day offset between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
• Georgian ethnographers consider chiakokonoba one of the country’s oldest surviving pre-Christian fire rites, older than the 4th-century Christianization of Kartli.
• Unlike church feasts, chiakokonoba has no fixed text or clergy involvement; its rhymes and details vary from village to village and survive only through oral memory.
• It is not listed as an official public holiday in Georgia, so it is marked after working hours rather than as a day off.

Practical tips for visitors

Because chiakokonoba is not a public holiday, public transport, shops and offices operate as usual; no closures should be expected in Tbilisi or regional towns. Early July is hot and dry across the lowlands, so light clothing is appropriate during the day, with a layer for the cooler evening bonfire hour. Visitors wishing to see the custom should arrange a rural homestay or guesthouse in a wine village in advance, since July is peak travel season in Kakheti. Open-fire customs depend on dry conditions and local caution about wildfire risk, so some municipalities may restrict open burning during particularly dry spells — check with a local guide or host before assuming a bonfire will take place. As with any private gathering, ask before photographing people or joining the fire, and if attending the following morning’s church service, dress modestly.

Combine it with

Chiakokonoba pairs naturally with a summer visit to Georgia’s wine country and highlands: explore the vineyard villages of Kakheti, the hill villages of Racha, or the orchards and river valleys of Imereti, where rural bonfire customs are most visibly kept alive.

Questions travellers ask

Is chiakokonoba a public holiday in Georgia?

No. It is a folk custom observed informally by villagers and families, not an official day off, so businesses, banks and transport continue to operate normally on 6 and 7 July.

Where can tourists actually watch the bonfires?

Rural villages in Kakheti, Racha, Imereti and Guria are the most reliable places, since the custom relies on courtyards, village squares and open ground that are scarce in Tbilisi.

Is it safe for visitors to jump over the fire themselves?

Locals generally welcome respectful guests who ask first; appropriate footwear and caution around an open flame are essential, and visitors should follow the lead of their hosts rather than attempt it unsupervised.

What is the connection to St John the Baptist?

The bonfire night falls on the eve of the Georgian Orthodox feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, celebrated on 24 June in the Julian calendar (7 July civil), though the fire-jumping itself is a folk custom rather than a church rite.

Do people in Tbilisi celebrate it?

Celebrations are far more common in villages and outlying settlements than in the dense city centre, where open fires are impractical; some suburban and peri-urban communities still light modest bonfires.

What should visitors wear?

Light, practical clothing suitable for a warm July evening near an open fire; modest dress is advisable if also attending a church service the following morning.

Can I take photographs of the bonfires and the people jumping?

It is courteous to ask the host family or community members before photographing, since this is a private, neighbourhood gathering rather than a staged public event.

Does weather ever disrupt the celebration?

Early July is typically dry and warm across most of Georgia, which generally favours outdoor bonfires, though local authorities may discourage open burning during unusually dry, high-fire-risk periods.

Sources

• Patriarchate of Georgia
• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia
• National Parliamentary Library of Georgia
• Georgia Today
• Agenda.ge