Midsummer

As you have surely noticed, the nights are getting shorter, the days hotter, and the required clothing necessary for public decency is getting less, and less. This is not a new phenomena. Even Shakespeare noted it, much more poetically than I will ever be able to pretend, in his tale about the one of the few nights in the year where mysterious, magical, sometimes spooky, but always enchanting beings can interact with mankind. (The other three nights are the other solstice, Mid-Winter's Eve, and the cross-quarter days, All Hallow's Eve, and Beltane, also known as May Day.)

I have blogged in the past about the importance of Midsummer, but, that was a year ago, and perhaps you have forgotten everything that needs to be done to get ready. It's actually not much, just clean house, gather wood for bonfires, take naps now so you can stay up late on a weeknight... but anyway here is a short list of traditions that you can try. If you aren't afraid to go out to play with all the fairies, that is.

• Traditionally, you are supposed to stay up to midnight on the night before solstice, the 20th, to welcome the day of sunlight, and then the night of Solstice burn fires to say good-bye to the sun.


• If you don't want to burn bonfires, you can just burn herbs at midnight to appease Odin.


• Also, at midnight, you are supposed to run naked into the nearest body of water to ensure good fortune for the coming year. I, personally, will now be avoiding all bodies of water at midnight, especially the community pool.


• Wash all your linen, beat all your rugs, and make everything fresh to keep the fairies out.


• Dew gathered on Midsummer's Night can heal sicknesses.


• Water gathered on Midsummer's Night will have magical properties.


• Leaves gathered on Midsummer's Night and used as bandages relieve pain.


• Midsummer is supposed to be a favorable time to find a boyfriend/girlfriend. If you know who you want, and you need to make them want you, you are supposed to roll around on their property naked in the light of the midsummer moon. (Just don't let them or any of their family members catch you because "midsummer" is not a legal defense for trespass.)


• An unmarried girl is supposed to fast on Midsummer Eve and at midnight set her table with a clean cloth, bread, cheese and ale, then leave her yard door open and wait. The boy she will marry, or his spirit, will come in and feast with her.


• If you don't know who you want to marry, according to Nordic tradition, if you place wildflowers under your pillows on Midsummer Eve you will dream of your future mate. Some traditions say you must gather nine flowers, some say you must gather them in silence, and some say that one of the flowers must be gathered from a churchyard. You might want to do all three requirements to make it work. I haven't yet tried the churchyard flowers yet. Somehow, it just seems like stealing to me.


• Also, on Midsummer's Eve a single woman should write the letters of the alphabet on pieces of paper. Then she must place them face down in water. On Midsummer's morning her true love's initial should be facing up. I think that this tradition could be a unisex tradition.


• But, all you guys out there, you must crawl under a blackberry bush on Midsummer's Day to catch a glimpse of your future mate's shadow. I am not sure how a glimpse of a shadow will help much, but then, dreams and initials don't help all that much either.

Summer Solstice, Midsummer Day, St John's Day, All-Couples Day, Litha, Gathering Day, Thing-Tide,

In times before we had central heating, indoor plumbing, and self-tanning creams, summer was a joyous time of the year. Especially for people (like the majority of my ancestors) who lived in the northern climes. The snow had disappeared, (or it had stopped raining) the ground had thawed out, (or it had stopped raining) flowers were blooming; (and it was just raining a little bit, enough to make them pretty.)

Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable. So, as early as people could calculate the shortest night, they celebrated the sun and solstice.

When I think of these celebrations I think of nature, the woods and faeries, of love and magic. Like most pagan festivals, the night celebrations of summer solstice are lit with bonfires.

Summer Solstice

Solstice is derived from the ancient Latin word "solstitium" meaning "sun" and "to cause to stand still." Each year the rays of the sun directly strike one of the two tropical latitude lines marking a "solstice." When it happens in June, it marks the beginning of summer for the Northern Hemisphere, but the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The exact moment happens this will happen this year (2006) June 21, at 8:26 a.m. EDT.

• Traditionally, you are supposed to stay up to midnight on the night before Solstice, the 20th, to welcome the day of sunlight, and then the night of Solstice burn fires to say good-bye to the sun.
  
• If you don't want to burn bonfires, you can just burn herbs at midnight to appease Odin.

Midsummer Day

Why did Shakespeare call it Midsummer if it's the just around the first day of summer? Because it is about roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Northern Europe. The people who created Stonehenge and Machu Picchu were very aware of the sun and the seasons, and they celebrated accordingly. But then the Christians came along and messed it all up, considering these celebrations pagan. So, just like the winter celebrations got moved from December 21st to the 25th, the June celebrations got moved from the 21st to the 23th. I don't know how technical you want to get with when you want to celebrate Midsummer. I guess anywhere from Solstice Day (June 21st) through Midsummer (June 23rd).

• Midsummer is a traditional bathing time. If you haven't taken your yearly bath, do so now.
• Also, wash all your linen, beat all your rugs, and make everything fresh so that no bad spirit will want to linger in your home as the days grow darker.
  
• Dew gathered on Midsummer's Night can heal sicknesses.
  
• Likewise, leaves gathered on Midsummer's Night and used as bandages relieve pain.
• Midsummer is supposed to be a favorable time to find a love-mate. If you know who you want, and you need to make them want you, you are supposed to roll around on their property naked in the light of the midsummer moon. (I am not responsible for the consequences.)
  
• Or if an unmarried girl fasted on Midsummer Eve and at midnight set her table with a clean cloth, bread, cheese and ale, then left her yard door open and waited, the boy she would marry, or his spirit, would come in and feast with her.
• If you don't know who you want, if you place wildflowers under your pillows on Midsummer Eve you will dream of your future mate. Some traditions say you must gather nine flowers, some say you must gather them in silence, and some say that one of the flowers must be gathered from a churchyard.
• Also, on Midsummer's Eve a single woman could write the letters of the alphabet on pieces of paper. Then she must place them face down in water. On Midsummer's morning her true love's initial should be facing up. I think that this tradition could be unisex.
• But, all you guys out there, you must crawl under a blackberry bush on Midsummer's Day to catch a glimpse of your future mate's shadow. I am not sure how a glimpse of a shadow will help much, but then, dreams and initials don't help all that much either.
  

St John's Day

St. John's Day is the name that the Catholic Church gave to the Midsummer celebration. St. John's Day is most strongly celebrated in the Baltic states of Estonia,Latvia, and Lithuania Stuffed Leg of Pork and Apple Pie are what are traditionally eaten on St. John's Day. (I, however, don't believe this "tradition" because apples are not ripe until Early August at the soonest. Strawberries would be a much better fruit to celebrate the coming months, but not strawberry pie, because cooked stawberries are gross.)

Anyway, St. John's Wort is blooming all over the place right now, that is if St. John's Wort grows naturally where you live. St. John's Wort used to be called "chase-devil", "Klamath Weed," or "Goat Weed," but the name was changed to enhance and support the celebration of "St John's Day. People would weave the flowers into garlands and accessories, to decorate their houses, themselves, and farm animals. They believed that the herb could shield them from the power of evil spirits. They also would use the flowers for divination, but I don't know how. Something about throwing a wreath into the water and how far the water carries it tells you something.

Litha, Gathering Day, and Thing-Tide are other names for this summer-happy-that-there-is-sun celebration.

Happy Summering!

June Is... Month

June is the sixth month of the year. The month is named for the Roman goddess Juno the wife of Jupiter (also known as Hera to the Greek mythologist) Her original name to the Romans was Junonius. Among her attributes, she is queen of heaven, approximating Frigg in Norse Mythology. She is ruler of the high point of year, when there is maximum light and minimum darkness (in the Northern Hemisphere). On about June 21, the northern Summer Solstice (Midsummer) will occur.

The Saxons also called it Seremonath (dry-month). In Finnish the month is called Kesaakuu, meaning "month of summer". The old Dutch name was Zomer-maand (summer-month); in the French Revolutionary calendar the month was called Prairial (meadow month, May 20 to June 18). The Irish used to call this month meitheamh, and the Pre-Revolutionary French called it Brachmanoth, meaning ‘break month’. Some American Indians name it the Hot or Strawberry Moon.

June is ‘the door of the year’ in goddess mythology where midsummer is an extremely important holiday. Unmarried girls who sleep with wild flowers under their pillow on midsummer's eve will dream of the man they will marry. (Have I done this every year for the past eight years? Yep. Am I going to tell my results. Nope.)

European folklore tells us that: good weather in ‘Flaming June’ is required if there is to be a good harvest; bats flying on a June evening are a sign of hot, dry weather, and if swallows fly near the ground in June it’s a sign of coming rain.

In the south-west of England, there is an old pagan custom of throwing flowers into a stream at this time of year for good luck. If you are near a stream and have flowers to throw, what can it hurt?

Yeah! For long days and starry nights, and meteor showers, and crickets. Rose scented nights. Sigh. I am not in love, I'm not. I'm in love with the memories of past Junes.

So, if you are looking for other ways to get through June, (other than my pagenesque ideas here) here are some ideas... Adopt A Shelter Cat Month (please let me, Rex cats are supposedly somewhat hypoallergenic ); Gay and Lesbian Pride Month; Cancer from the Sun Month; Celibacy Awareness Month; Child Vision Awareness Month; Child Awareness Month; Dairy Alternative Month; Effective Communication Month; "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month; Fireworks Safety Month; International Accordian Awareness Month;International Men's Month; Lane Courtesy Month; Turkey Lover's Month; National Candy Month; National Ice Tea Month; National River Month; National Rose Month; National Safety Month; National Soul Food Month; National Steakhouse Month; Potty Training Awareness Month; Rebuild Your Life Month; National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month; National Paypaya Month; National Pest Control Month; Fight The Filthy Fly Month; National Flag Month; National "Drive Safe" Month (Maybe if we celebrate Lane Courtesy, we will drive safely, and maybe "ly" won't disappear from the language); Zoo and Aquarium Month