Early Europeans built fires to celebrate the summer solstice and to frighten off witches and fairies on this magical night. To enhance the power of these ritual fires, they burned a variety of protective herbs, such as lavender, nettle, mullein, and betony. The most potent of these herbal protectors was hypericum, whose radiant yellow blooms were associated with the sun's magical powers. (In Greek, hypericum means "over the icon," for this protective plant was hung as an amulet above figures of the ancient gods.) To convert the European pagans, Catholic priests assimilated their festivals into the calendar of saints' days, designating Midsummer Day as the feast of St. John the Baptist. They renamed hypericum in St. John's honor and—of course—included this newly-consecrated plant among the other herbs burned as incense on this day.