Today (and last night) is the celebration of the Summer Solstice*, also known as Midsummer, or Litha. It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun (the opposite being true for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere). It is a time of fertility and celebration: bonfires, maypoles, dancing, and outdoor festivals have been traditional during this time for most of human history. In some modern Pagan faiths it is believed that this holiday represents the highest ascendancy of masculine divinity.

Druids at Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice

Here are some recent quotes on this day from the press, along with some words from those who celebrate the Summer Solstice as a holiday.

“Druids began their incantations, Wiccan priestesses drew their cowls tight against the damp morning air and four half-naked Papuan dancers waved their hands in the air and went: “Woo, woo, woo” … A record 36,500 people had gathered at the prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain to watch the sun rise. So many turned out to celebrate the solstice that roads had to be shut and the vast field converted into a car park for 6,500 vehicles was full by 3am.” – Simon de Bruxelles, The Times

“They may be suffering from one of the world’s worst recessions but all the economic doom and gloom will not keep Latvians from having fun at a midsummer’s night festival dating from pagan times. “It is a tradition here,” 45-year-old Nina told AFP outside a Riga supermarket. “Everyone entertains themselves as they can. Sure, we’ll cut out small things to spend less this year but the tradition will remain.” Deeply rooted in pagan customs handed down from generation to generation, the “Jani” festival is held on June 23 as the summer solstice marks northern Europe’s longest day of the year — when Latvia enjoys almost 18 hours of daylight.” – Aleks Tapinsh, AFP

For ancient pagans in Scandinavia, cracking open a Carlsberg and singing ‘We love our Land’ around a bonfire, perhaps, was a bit unforeseeable.  However, pagans did light fires to heal pain and protected their souls on midsummer’s, or as it’s presently known in Denmark, Sankt Hans Aften or Saint John’s Eve.  The dear late Sankt Hans, or Saint John the Baptist, surely never imagined that decedents of those pagans would build pyres in his honour, nor that, after the rise of nationalism, a nation fondly known as Denmark would host those pyres.  Times surely have changed since the birth of the last millennium. – The Copenhagen Post

“Steeped in ancient rituals and traditions, Latvia’s Midsummer is a celebration unique in Europe, where many of the customs have long since died out. Most Latvians leave the cities enmasse to gather around ceremonial bonfires in the countryside to welcome the arrival of summer in the company of friends and family. During this time the countryside comes alive with all-night parties in which people make fires, sing songs, dance, make and wear wreaths of flowers, drink specially-brewed beer and eat homemade cheese.” – Kate McIntosh, The Baltic Times

“There is something very refreshing about the Wiccan way, the Druid approach. They have no expectation that they can explain everything or indeed anything. Unlike the organised religions, Wicca is all about stuff we can see; the sun and the moon, the holly and the oak. Their godheads are based on a necessary reality, an existence that once yolked humankind to the earth and earth to humankind. Their belief seems to be founded on the realisation that we are animals and locked into project planet. And while the notion of “harm none, do what ye will” might seem familiar to Bible-lovers, it comes in a refreshingly dogma-free version with our Wicca sorority and brethren. Given what we appear to be doing to the planet in terms of warming it, melting it and polluting it, it might not be a bad time to start acting on that mantra.” – Hardeep Singh Kohli, The Independent

A blessed Midsummer to you all!

* Technically speaking, the 2009 Summer Solstice occurs at 05:45 UTC on June 21st. Please check your local time-zone for accurate Solstice timing.

Today (and tomorrow) is the celebration of the Summer Solstice*, also known as Midsummer, or Litha. It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun (the opposite being true for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere). It is a time of fertility and celebration: bonfires, maypoles, dancing, and outdoor festivals have been traditional during this time for most of human history. In some modern Pagan faiths it is believed that this holiday represents the highest ascendency of masculine divinity.

Druids at Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice

“Party in the sun until midnight. That’s what revelers around the world will be doing this weekend to mark summer’s official start — the summer solstice. For most of us, a trip to Stonehenge or Scandinavia is not part of the plan. But what better time to invite friends over for a radiant summer soiree than on the longest day of the year?” – Sue Gleiter, The Patriot-News

“Solstice comes from the Latin words sol and stice, and means literally “sun stands still” because the sun rises and sets at the same point on the horizon for three days. Ancient peoples celebrated it with festivals, bonfires, feasting, singing and maypole dancing.” – Jody Feinberg, GateHouse News Service

“A pagan druid ceremony will be held at the top of [Spinnaker Tower] to mark summer solstice. Leading Stonehenge Druid Frank Somers along with about seven others will be dressed in traditional ceremonial outfits to mark the occasion. The ceremony starts with a procession and a calling of the spirits followed by an explanation of the celebration. There will be chanting, singing and drumming as well as horn blowing.” – Portsmouth News

“The dawn of the 2008 Summer Solstice approaches with thousands of revellers expected to descend on Wiltshire’s sacred stone circle sites. In 2007, 24,000 people celebrated Summer Solstice at Stonehenge and with this years event falling on a Saturday many more are expected to turn out. Sunrise will occur at Stonehenge at 4.58am on June 21 on what is the longest day of the year.” – Victoria Ashford, Wiltshire Times

“Celebrate Solstice time with other Pagans — take part in the Pagan Spirit Gathering or some other Pagan festival happening during June. Keep a Sacred Fire burning throughout the gathering. Stay up all night on Solstice Eve and welcome the rising Sun at dawn. Make a pledge to Mother Earth of something that you will do to improve the environment and then begin carrying it out. Have a magical gift exchange with friends. Burn your Yule wreath in a Summer Solstice bonfire. Exchange songs, chants, and stories with others in person or through the mail. Do ecstatic dancing to drums around a blazing bonfire.” – Selena Fox, “Summer Solstice”

A blessed Midsummer to you all!

* Technically speaking, the 2008 Summer Solstice occurs at 23:59 UTC on June 20th. Please check your local time-zone for accurate Solstice timing.

Today is the celebration of the Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer, or Litha. It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun (the opposite being true for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere). It is a time of fertility and celebration: bonfires, maypoles, dancing, and outdoor festivals have been traditional during this time for most of human history. In some modern Pagan faiths it is believed that this holiday represents the highest ascendency of masculine divinity.

Druids at Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice

“Most people know that June 21, the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year. Few people realize why marking that day was important to people in the past and why it continues to be important to those whose beliefs are tied to the Earth’s cycles … By celebrating the summer solstice (and other seasonal markers), pagans acknowledge that all people are part of the ecosystem, dependent on the Earth and the seasons.” – Christine Hennebury, The Telegram

“An exuberant gathering in Britain of 20,000 people has welcomed the first rays of dawn on the year’s longest day. It’s the summer solstice, the first day of summer. And in a modern version of an ancient sun-worshiping tradition, partygoers, pagans and druids gathered at Stonehenge. The still-mysterious collection of 3,000-year-old giant pillars rests on a plain southwest of London. New Yorker Jeanette Montesano, 23, is a self-described pagan and compares the Stonehenge trek to the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, though not nearly as big and a lot more fun. Couples snuggled on the lawn, dancers gyrated to drums and whistles and floodlights bathed the stones in pink and purple.” – The Associated Press

“For the summer solstice ritual, Henderson will wear long, deep-hued robes, lead ceremonial chants and offer praise to the sun god, Bel, and the river goddess, Danu, in a pretty corner of the Botsford Recreational Preserve in Scio Township … Ann Arbor’s 20-member druid grove, started in 1994, is part of a small, international movement to revive pagan and druid practice. The Ann Arbor congregation, called the Shining Lakes Grove, is part of a larger international druid movement spread across 58 groves in the United States, Canada and Britain. The archdruid, who heads the organization, is a guy named Skip.” – Tamara Audi, Detroit Free Press

“It’s a day celebrated in as many different ways as there are different cultures. Whether it’s marked with drumming, dancing, fires, food, festivals or just people coming together to note the occasion, it’s a chance for humans to deepen their spiritual understanding and reaffirm their connection to the natural world, said Sara Heartsong, a native Las Crucen.” – Jason Gibbs, Las Cruces Sun-News

“For many Latvians, the midsummer festival is the most important feast of the year. Based on pre-Christian traditions of sun worship, it is currently dedicated to John the Baptist (whence its alternative name of “Jani”), but its rituals are purely pagan. In the afternoon of June 23, Latvians crowned with wreaths of oak leaves flock to the countryside. In pre-Christian times the oak was regarded as a holy tree, and it still features widely in Latvian folk songs and on the five-lat (9.52 dollars) bank note. As the evening draws in, Ligo celebrants light bonfires and sing folk songs or jump through the flames. They also grill shashliks and consume copious quantities of alcohol, although these are not generally interpreted as being specifically pagan traditions.” – Earth Times

“Although our Pagan ancestors probably preferred June 24 (and indeed most European folk festivals today use this date), the sensibility of modern Witches seems to prefer the actual solstice point, beginning the celebration on its eve, or the sunset immediately preceding the solstice point. Again, it gives modern Pagans a range of dates to choose from with, hopefully, a weekend embedded in it … Altogether, Midsummer is a favorite holiday for many Witches in that it is so hospitable to outdoor celebrations. The warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the celebrants are not, in fact, skyclad, then you may be fairly certain that the long ritual robes of winter have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel.” – Mike Nichols, A Midsummer’s Celebration

A blessed Midsummer to you all!