Historically in England, some time before 1400, fires were lit around Midsummer as a wake in the vigil for St John the Baptist. Folk would awake in the evening, and make three manners of fire: one with only clean bones ("bonys") and no wood called a "bonnefyre", one with clean wood and no bones called a "wakefyre", and the third with both bones and wood, called "Saynt Ionys Fyre". Apparently the original wake fell into "lechery and gluttony", so the church deemed it instead as a fast.
historically in england some time before 1400 fires were lit around midsummer as a wake in the vigil for st john the baptist folk would awake in the evening and make three manners of fire one with only clean bones ("bonys") and no wood called a "bonnefyre" one with clean wood and no bones called a "wakefyre" and the third with both bones and wood called "saynt ionys fyre" apparently the original wake fell into "lechery and gluttony" so the church deemed it instead as a fast