Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time
centered upon the
summer solstice, but more
often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the
actual solstice, or that take place around the 24th of June and the
preceding evening. The exact dates vary between cultures. The 24th
of June is a throwback to the old
Julian
calendar when the summer solstice usually fell on that day.
Background
European midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations
are pre-Christian in origin.
They are
particularly important in Northern Europe - Denmark
, Estonia
, Finland
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Norway
and Sweden
- but are
found also in Ireland
, parts of
Britain
(Cornwall
especially), France
, Italy
, Malta
, Portugal
, Spain
, the
Ukraine
, other parts
of Europe, and elsewhere - such as Canada
, the
United
States
, Puerto Rico, and also in the Southern
Hemisphere
(Brazil
), where this
imported European celebration would be more appropriately called
Midwinter.
Midsummer is also sometimes referred to by
Neopagans and others as
Litha, stemming
from
Bede's
De temporum ratione in which he
gave the Anglo-Saxon names for the months roughly corresponding to
June and July as "se Ærra Liþa" and "se Æfterra Liþa" (the "early
Litha month" and the "later Litha month") with an
intercalary month of "Liþa" appearing after se
Æfterra Liþa on leap years. The fire festival or Lith- Summer
solstice is a tradition for many pagans.
Solstice celebrations still center upon the first day of Summer
according to the calendar. However, there are some who still choose
to hold the rite on the 21st of June, although this is not always
the longest day of the year.
Although Midsummer is originally pagan holiday, in
Christianity it is associated with the
nativity of John the Baptist,
which is observed on the same day,
June
24th, in both the
Catholic,
Orthodox and some
Protestant churches. It is six months before
Christmas because
Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that
John the Baptist was born six
months earlier than
Jesus, although the Bible
does not say at which time of the year this happened.
In
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec
(Canada),
the traditional Midsummer day, June 24, is a public holiday. So it was formerly
also in Sweden and Finland, but in
these countries it was, in the 1950s, moved to the Saturday between
June 20th and June
26th.
History
The celebration of Midsummer's Eve was from ancient times linked to
the summer solstice. People believed that mid-summer plants,
especially
Calendula had miraculous
healing powers and they therefore picked them on this night.
Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were
believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again.
In later years,
witches were also thought to
be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings, though this
is not the case today.
In
Sweden, Mid-summer celebration originates from the time
before Christianity; it was celebrated as a sacrifice time in the
sign of the fertility .
The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the annual
cycle of the year since Neolithic times . The concentration of the
observance is not on the day as we reckon it, commencing at
midnight or at dawn, but the pre-Christian beginning of the day,
which falls on the previous eve. In Sweden, Finland and Estonia,
Midsummer's Eve is considered the greatest festival of the year,
comparable only with
Walpurgis
Night,
Christmas Eve, and
New Year's Eve.
In the 7th century,
Saint Eligius
(died 659/60) warned the recently converted inhabitants of Flanders
against the age-old pagan solstice celebrations. According to the
Vita by his companion
Ouen, he'd say:
"No Christian on the feast of Saint John or the solemnity of any
other saint performs
solestitia [summer solstice rites] or
dancing or leaping or diabolical chants."
As Christianity entered pagan areas, midsummer celebrations came to
be often borrowed and transferred into new Christian holidays,
often resulting in celebrations that mixed Christian traditions
with traditions derived from pagan Midsummer festivities.
Contemporary national traditions
Australia
Cornish migrants in South
Australia
at one time
celebrated the traditional European Midsummer with a bonfire on the traditional date of 24 June, which in
Australia is the middle of winter. The earliest recorded
bonfire was lit for this celebration in Moonta
, on the
night leading into June 24, 1862. Similar celebrations began
in
Burra soon after.
Brazil
Portuguese St. John's Day, brought to Brazil during colonial times,
has become a popular event that is celebrated during a period that
starts one week before St John's Day and ends one week after. As
this nationwide festival, called "
Festa
Junina" (June Festival), happens during the European midsummer,
it takes place in the Brazilian midwinter and is most associated
with Northeastern Brazil, but is today celebrated in the whole
country.
As the northeast is largely arid or semi-arid these popular
festivals not only coincide with the rainy seasons of most states
in the northeast but they also provide the people with an
opportunity to give thanks to Saint John for the rain. They also
celebrate rural life and feature typical clothing, food, dance
(particularly quadrilha, which is similar to square dancing). Like
Midsummer and Saint John's Day in Portugal and Scandinavian
countries, São João celebrates marital union. The
quadrilha features couple formations around a mock wedding
whose bride and groom are the central attraction of the dancing. A
maypole, which symbolizes the phallus (called
mastro de São
João), is also raised.
Usually
taking place in an arraial, a large, open space outdoors, men dress
up as farm boys with suspenders and large straw hats and women wear
pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth and red-checkered dresses,
all in a loving tribute to the origins of Brazilian country music
and of themselves, some of whom are recent immigrants from the
countryside to cities such as Olinda
, Recife
, Maceió
and Salvador
, and some return to the rural areas during the
festival to visit their families. However, nowadays, Saint
John festivities are extremely popular in all urban areas and among
all social classes. In the Northeast, they are as popular as
Carnival. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these
festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant
costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles
(bonfires, fireworks display, and folk dancing).
Two
northeastern towns in particular have competed with each other for
the title of "Biggest Saint John Festival in the World", namely
Caruaru
(in the
state of Pernambuco), and Campina Grande
, in Paraíba
state. In fact, Caruaru features in the Guinness Book of
World Records for holding the biggest outdoor country festival. As
Saint John festivities also coincide with the corn harvest, dishes
served during this period are commonly made with corn, such as
canjica and
pamonha;
dishes also include peanuts, potatoes sausages and also sweet rice.
The celebrations are very colorful and festive and include amazing
pyrotechnics.
Bonfires and fire in general are thus one of
the most important features of these festivities, a feature that is
among the remnants of midsummer pagan rituals in the Iberian Peninsula
Bulgaria
On Midsummer day Bulgarians celebrate the so called Enyovden. On
the same day
Eastern Orthodox
church celebrate the day of
John the
Baptist and the rites and traditions of both holidays are often
mixed.Bulgarian folklore states the beginning of winter starts on
Enyovden. It is thought that in the morning of Enyovden, when the
sun rises, it “winks’, “plays”, and the one who sees that will be
healthy throughout the year. It is believed that on Enyovden the
different herbs have the greatest healing power especially at
sunrise. Therefore, they have to be picked up early in the morning
before dawn. Women–sorceresses, enchantresses - go to gather herbs
by themselves to cure and make charms. The herbs gathered for the
winter must be 77 and a half–for all diseases and for the nameless
disease.
Canada (Quebec)
In
Quebec, Canada, the
celebration of June 24 was brought to New
France by the first French colonists. Great fires were
lit at night. According to the
Jesuit
Relations, the first celebrations of St John's day in
New France took place around 1638. In 1834,
Ludger Duvernay, printer and editor of
La Minerve took the leadership
of an effort to make June 24 the national holiday of the
Canadiens (
French
Canadians). In 1908, Pope
Pius X
designated John the Baptist as the patron saint of the
French-Canadians. In 1925, June 24 became a legal holiday in Quebec
and in 1977, it became the secular
National Holiday of
Quebec. It still is the tradition to light great fires on the
night of the 24th of June.
Croatia
In
Croatia
, midsummer is called Ivanje (Ivan being
Croatian for John). It is
celebrated on June 23, mostly in rural areas. Festivals celebrating
Ivanje are held across the country. According to the tradition,
bonfires (
Ivanjski krijesovi) are built on the shores of
lakes, near rivers or on the beaches for the young people to jump
over the flames.
Denmark
Danish bonfire with the traditional
burning of a witch
Danes celebrating Midsummer by singing
the Midsummer hymn by the bonfire
In
Denmark, the
solstitial celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St.
John's Eve"). It was an official holiday until 1770, and in
accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on
the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of
23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the
doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed
for the rest of the year to cure people.
It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting
healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil
spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the
beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although
bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be
close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks,
etc.) In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and
cloth (probably made by the elder women of the family) on the
bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings
from 1540 to 1693.
This burning sends the "witch" away to
Bloksbjerg, the mountain 'Brocken'
in the Harz
region of
Germany
where the great witch gathering was thought to be
held on this day.
Holger Drachmann and P. E.
Lange-Müller wrote a
midsommervise (Midsummer hymn) in
1885 called
"Vi elsker vort land..." ("We Love Our
Country") that is sung at every bonfire on this evening.
Estonia
"Jaanipäev" ("John's Day" in English) was
celebrated long before the arrival of Christianity in Estonia, although
the day was given its name by the crusaders. The arrival of
Christianity, however, did not end pagan beliefs and fertility
rituals surrounding this holiday. In 1578,
Balthasar Russow wrote in his Livonian
Chronicle about
Estonians who placed more
importance on the festival than going to church. He complained
about those who went to church, but did not enter, and instead
spent their time lighting bonfires, drinking, dancing, singing and
following pagan rituals. Midsummer marks a change in the farming
year, specifically the break between the completion of spring
sowing and the hard work of summer hay-making.
Understandably, some of the rituals of Jaanipäev have very strong
folkloric roots. The best-known Jaanik, or midsummer, ritual is the
lighting of the bonfire and jumping over it. This is seen as a way
of guaranteeing prosperity and avoiding bad luck. Likewise, to not
light the fire is to invite the destruction of your house by fire.
The fire also frightened away mischievous spirits who avoided it at
all costs, thus ensuring a good harvest. So, the bigger the fire,
the further the mischievous spirits stayed away.
Estonians celebrate "
Jaaniöö"
("John's Night" in English) on the eve of the Summer Solstice (June
23) with bonfires.
On the islands of Saaremaa
and Hiiumaa
, old fishing boats may be burnt in the large pyres
set ablaze. On Jaaniõhtu, Estonians all around the country
will gather with their families, or at larger events to celebrate
this important day with singing and dancing, as Estonians have done
for centuries. The celebrations that accompany Jaaniöö are the
largest and most important of the year, and the traditions are
similar those of Finland and the southern neighbour Latvia.
Since 1934, June 23 is also national
Victory Day of
Estonia and both 23rd and 24th are holidays and
flag days. The
Estonian
flag is not lowered in the night between these two days.
Finland
Before 1316, the summer solstice was called
Ukon juhla,
after the Finnish god
Ukko.
In Karelian
tradition, many bonfires were burned side by side,
the biggest of which was called Ukko-kokko (the "bonfire
of Ukko"). After the celebrations were Christianized, the
holiday is known as
juhannus after John the Baptist
(Finnish:
Johannes Kastaja).
Since 1955, the holiday is always on a Saturday (between June 20
and June 26). Earlier it was always on June 24.
In the Finnish midsummer celebration, bonfires (Finnish
kokko) are very common and are burnt at lakesides and by
the sea. Often two young birch trees (
koivu) are placed on
either side of the front door to welcome visitors. In Midsummer
night the sauna is typically heated and family and friends are
invited to bathe and to grill.
Swedish-speaking Finns often
celebrate by erecting a midsummer or
maypole
(Swedish
midsommarstång,
majstång).
In
folk magic, midsummer was a very
potent night and the time for many small rituals, mostly for young
maidens seeking suitors and fertility.
Will
o wisps were believed to be seen at midsummer night,
particularly to finders of the mythical "
fern
in bloom" and possessors of the "fern seed", marking a treasure. An
important feature of the midsummer in Finland is the white night
and the
midnight sun. Because of
Finland's location spanning around the
Arctic Circle the nights near the midsummer
day are short or non-existent. This gives a great contrast to the
darkness of the winter time.
Many music festivals of all sizes are organized on the Midsummer
weekend. It's also common to start summer holidays on Midsummer
day. For many families the Midsummer is the time when they move to
the countryside to their summer cottage by the lake. Often Finns
spend the whole of July at the summer cottages. Midsummerday is
also the
Day of the
Finnish Flag. The flag is hoisted at 6 pm on
Midsummer eve and flown all night till 9 pm the following
evening.
France
In France, the "Fête de la Saint-Jean" (feast of St John),
traditionally celebrated with bonfires (le feu de la Saint-Jean)
that are reminiscent of Midsummer's pagan rituals, is a catholic
festivity in celebration of
Saint
John the Baptist. It takes place on June 24, on Midsummer day
(St John's day). In medieval times, this festival was celebrated
with
cat-burning rituals. In certain
French towns, a tall bonfire is built by the inhabitants in order
to be lit on St John's Day. In the Vosges region and in the
Southern part of Meurthe-et-Moselle, this huge bonfire is named
"chavande". June 21 is also known as the
Fête de la Musique.
Germany
The day of sun solstice is called
Sonnenwende in German.
On June
20, 1653 the Nuremberg
town council issued the following order: "Where
experience herefore have shown, that after the old heathen use, on
John's day in every year, in the country, as well in towns as
villages, money and wood have been gathered by young folk, and
there upon the so-called sonnenwendt or zimmet fire kindled, and
thereat winebibbing, dancing about the said fire, leaping over the
same, with burning of sundry herbs and flowers, and setting of
brands from the said fire in the fields, and in many other ways all
manner of superstitious work carried on---Therefore the Hon.
Council of Nürnberg town neither can nor ought to forbear to do
away with all such unbecoming superstition, paganism, and peril of
fire on this coming day of St. John."
Ireland
In the
Irish calendar, Midsummer is
one of the four
Irish Quarter
days that divide the official calendar, and the evening before
(
St. John's Eve). Many towns and
cities have 'Midsummer Carnivals' with
fairs,
concerts and
fireworks either on or on the weekend nearest to
Midsummer. In some rural spots, bonfires are occasionally lit on
hilltops. This tradition harks back to pagan times.
Irish deities connected
with Midsummer include Áine, to whom
Midsummer offerings were traditionally made in County
Limerick
.
Italy
In
Italy, the feast of Saint John the Baptist has been
celebrated in Florence
from medieval times, certainly in the Renaissance,
with festivals sometimes lasting the three days from 21 to 24
June. This happens nowadays also in Cesena
with a
special street market and celebration that last from June 21 to
24. Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint
of Genoa, Florence and Turin
where a
fireworks display takes place at the celebration on the
river.In Turin Saint
John's cult is also diffused since medieval times when the city
stops to work for two days and people from the surroundings comes
to dance around the bonfire in the central square.
Jersey
In
Jersey
most of the
former midsummer customs are largely ignored nowadays. The
custom known as
Les cônes d'la Saint Jean was observed as
late as the 1970s - horns or conch shells were blown. Ringing the
bachîn (a large brass preserving pan) at midsummer to
frighten away evil spirits survived as a custom on some farms until
the 1940s and has been revived as a folk performance in the 21st
century.
Latvia
In
Latvia, Midsummer is called Jāņi (Jānis being Latvian for
John) or Līgo Svētki (Svētki
= festival). It is a
national
holiday celebrated on a large scale by almost everyone in
Latvia and by people of Latvian origin abroad. Celebrations consist
of a lot of traditional elements - eating Jāņu cheese, drinking
beer, singing hundreds of Latvian folk songs dedicated to Jāņi,
burning bonfire to keep light all through the night and jumping
over it, wearing wreaths of flowers (for the women) and leaves (for
the men) together with modern commercial products and ideas. Oak
wreaths are worn by men named Jānis in honor of their name day.
Small oak branches with leaves are attached to cars in Latvia
during the festivity.
In the
western town of Kuldīga
, revellers mark the holiday by running naked
through the town at three in the morning. The event has
taken place for the past seven years. Runners are rewarded with
beer, and police are on hand in case any "puritans" attempt to
interfere with the naked run.
Lithuania
Midsummer is commonly called John's Day (
Joninės) in
Lithuania, and is also known as Saint Jonas' Festival, Rasos (Dew
Holiday), Kupolė, Midsummer Day and St. John's Day. It is
celebrated in the night from the 23rd of June to the 24th of June
and on the 24th June. The traditions include singing songs and
dancing until the sun sets, telling tales, searching to find the
magic fern blossom at midnight, jumping over bonfires, greeting the
rising midsummer sun and washing the face with a morning dew, young
girls float flower wreaths on the water of river or lake. These are
customs brought from pagan culture and beliefs. The latter
Christian tradition is based on the reverence of Saint John.
Lithuanians with the names Jonas, Jonė, Janina receive many
greetings from their family, relatives and friends.
Norway
As in
Denmark, Sankthansaften is celebrated on June 23 in
Norway. The day is also called
Jonsok,
which means "John's wake", important in
Roman Catholic times with
pilgrimages to churches and holy springs.
For
instance, up until 1840 there was a pilgrimage to the stave church in Røldal
(southwest
Norway) whose crucifix was said to have healing powers.
Today, however,
Sankthansaften is largely regarded as a
secular event.
In most places the main event is the burning of a large bonfire. In
parts of Norway a custom of arranging mock marriages, both between
adults and between children, is still kept alive. The wedding was
meant to symbolize the blossoming of new life. Such weddings are
known to have taken place in the 1800s, but the custom is believed
to be older.
Poland
Especially in northern Poland
– the
Eastern Pomeranian and Kashubian regions – midsummer is celebrated
on June 23. People dress in traditional Polka dress, and
girls throw wreaths made of flowers into the Baltic Sea
, and into lakes or rivers. The midsummer day
celebration starts at about 8:00 p.m. and lasts all night until
sunrise. People celebrate this special day every year and call it
Noc Świętojańska which means St. John's Night.
On that
day in big Polish cities
(like Warsaw
and
Kraków
) there are
many organized events, the most popular event being the
Wianki, which means wreaths.
Portugal
In
Portugal, Midsummer festivities are included in what is known today
as Santos Populares (Popular Saints celebrations), now
corresponding to different municipal holidays: St Anthony's Day in
Lisbon
(June 13),
St John's Day in Oporto
, Braga, and Almada
(June 24),
St Peter's day in Seixal
, Sintra, Póvoa do Varzim
, and Barcelos (June
29). The actual Midsummer, St John's day, is
celebrated traditionally more in Oporto.
Saints’ days are full of fun and merriment. The streets are
decorated with balloons and arches made out of brightly-coloured
paper; people dance in the city's small squares, and altars,
dedicated to the saints, are put up as a way of asking for good
fortune. These holidays are days of festivities with good food and
refreshments, people eat Caldo Verde (cabbage and potato soup),
Sardinha Assada (grilled sardines), bread and drink red wine and
água-pé (grape juice with a small percentage of alcohol).
In
Lisbon, in Avenida
da Liberdade, there are the Marchas, a parade of folklore
and costumes of the inhabitants from the city's different
traditional quarters, with hundreds of singers and dancers and a
vast audience applauding their favorite participants.
As St
Anthony is the matchmaker saint, it is still the tradition in
Lisbon to celebrate
multiple marriages (200 to 300) and still following the tradition,
if you are attracted to someone, one can declare himself in the
heat of the festivities by offering to the loved person a
manjerico (a flower-pot with a sweet basil plant) and a
love poem.
In
Oporto St John's
is a festival that is lived to the full in the streets, where
anything is permitted. People carry a whole plant of
flowering garlic with them (or a little plastic hammer), which they
use to bang their neighbors over the head for good luck. According
to one Portuguese Grandmother, the tradition is that St. John was a
scalliwag in his youth and the people hit him on the head with the
garlic saying "return to the right path". There is also dancing,
while the highlight of the night is the firework display over the
River Douro. Across the country the traditional midsummer bonfire
is also built, and following an ancient pagan tradition, revelers
try to jump over the bonfire, this in order to gain protection
during the rest of the year.
Romania
In Romania, the Midsummer
celebrations are named
Drăgaica or
Sânziene. Drăgaica is celebrated by a
dance performed by a group of 5-7 young girls of which one is
chosen as
the Drăgaica. She is dressed as a
bride, with wheat wreath, while the other girls,
dressed in white wear a veil with
bedstraw flowers. Midsummer fairs are held in
many Romanian villages and cities.
The oldest and best known midsummer fair
in Romania is the Drăgaica fair,
held in Buzău
between 10
and 24 June every year.
Russia and Ukraine
Night on the Eve of Ivan Kupala,
by Henryk Hector Siemiradzki.
Ivan Kupala was the old Russian name
for John the Baptist. Up to the present day, the Russian Midsummer
Night (or Ivan's Day) is known as one of the most expressive
Russian folk and pagan holidays.
Ivan Kupala Day is the day of summer
solstice celebrated in Russia
and
Ukraine on June 23 OS and July 6 NS. This is a pagan
fertility rite, which has been accepted into the
Orthodox Christian calendar.
Many rites of this holiday are connected with water,
fertility and
autopurification. The girls, for
example, would float their flower garlands on the water of rivers
and tell their fortunes from their movement. Lads and girls would
jump over the flames of bonfires. Nude bathing is likewise
practiced. Nights on the Eve of Ivan Kupala inspired
Modest Mussorgsky to create his
Night on Bald
Mountain. A prominent Ivan Kupala night scene is featured
in
Andrei Tarkovsky's film
Andrei Rublev.
The
Yakut people of the
Sakha Republic celebrate a solstitial
ceremony,
Ysyakh, involving tethering a horse to a pole
and
circle dancing around it. Betting
on
Reindeer or
horse racing would often take place afterward.
The
traditions are derived from Tengriism, the
ancient sun religion of the region which has since been driven out
by the Russian
empire
, Russian
Orthodox Church and finally the Communist Party.
The traditions have since been encouraged.
Spain
The traditional midsummer party in Spain is the celebration in
honour of
San Juan (St. John the
Baptist) and takes place in June the 23rd night. It is common in
many areas of the country. Parties are organised usually at
beaches, where bonfires are lit and a set of firework displays
usually take place.Bonfires are lit in the streets and there are
fireworks too.
On the Mediterranean coast, especially in
Catalonia
and València
, special meals like Coca de Sant Joan are
also served on this occasion. In Alicante
, since 1928, the bonfires of Saint John were developed
into elaborate constructions inspired by the Fallas of Valencia
.
Midsummer
tradition is also especially strong in northern areas of the
country, such as Galicia
, where one can easily identify the rituals that
reveal the pagan beliefs widespread throughout Europe in Neolithic times. These beliefs pivot on
three basic ideas: the importance of medicinal plants, especially
in relation to health, youth and beauty; the protective character
of fire to ward men off evil spirits and witches and, finally, the
purifying, miraculous effects of water. What follows is a summary
of Galician traditions surrounding St. John's festival in relation
to these three elements.
- Medicinal plants: Traditionally, women collect several species
of plants on St. John's eve. These vary from area to area, but
mostly include fennel, different species of fern (e.g. dryopteris filix-max), rue (herb of grace, ruta graveolens), rosemary, dog rose (rosa
canina), lemon verbena, St John's wort (hypericum perforatum),
mallows (malva sylvestris),
laburnum, foxgloves (digitalis purpurea) and elder flowers. In some areas, these are arranged in a
bunch and hung in doorways. In most others, they are dipped in a
vessel with water and left outside exposed to the dew of night
until the following morning (o dia de San Xoan -St. John's day),
when people use the resulting flower water to wash their
faces.
- Water: Tradition holds it that the medicinal plants mentioned
above are most effective when dipped in water collected from seven
different springs. Also, on some beaches, it was traditional for
women who wanted to be fertile to bathe in the sea until they were
washed by 9 waves.
- Fire:
Bonfires are lit, usually around midnight both on beaches and
inland, so much so that one usually cannot tell the smoke from the
mist common in this Atlantic corner of Iberia at this time of the year, and it smells burnt
everywhere. Occasionally, a dummy is placed at the top,
representing a witch or the devil. Young and all gather around them
and feast mostly on pilchards, potatoes boiled in their skins and
maize bread. When it is relatively safe to jump over the bonfire,
it is done three times (although it could also be nine or any odd
number) for good luck at the cry of “meigas fora” (witches off!).It
is also common to drink Queimada, a beverage resulting
from setting alight Galician grappa mixed with sugar, coffee beans
and pieces of fruit, which is prepared while chanting an
incantation against evil spirits.
Sweden
In modern
Sweden, Midsummer's Eve and Midsummer's
Day (Midsommarafton and Midsommardagen) were
formerly celebrated on 23 June and 24 June, but since 1953 the celebration has been
moved to the Friday and Saturday between 19
June and 26 June. It is one of
the most important holidays of the year in Sweden, and probably the
most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated. The main
celebrations take place on the Friday, and the traditional events
include raising and dancing around a huge
maypole. Before the maypole is raised, greens and
flowers are collected and used to cover the entire pole.
Raising and dancing around a
maypole
(
majstång or
midsommarstång) is an activity that
attracts families and many others. People dancing around the pole
listen to traditional music and many wear
traditional folk costumes.
The year's first potatoes,
pickled
herring,
sour cream, and possibly the
first strawberries of the season are on the menu. Drinking songs
are also important at this feast, and many drink heavily.
Because Midsummer was thought to be one of the times of the year
when magic was strongest, it was considered a good night to perform
rituals to look into the future. Traditionally, young people pick
bouquets of seven or nine different flowers and put them under
their pillow in the hope of dreaming about their future spouse. In
the past it was believed that herbs picked at Midsummer were highly
potent, and water from springs could bring good health. Greenery
placed over houses and barns were supposed to bring good fortune
and health to people and livestock; this old tradition of
decorating with greens continues, even though most don't take it
seriously. To decorate with greens was called
att maja (to
may) and may be the origin of the word
majstång,
maja coming originally from the month May. Other
researchers say the term came from German merchants who raised the
maypole in June because the Swedish climate made it impossible to
find the necessary greens and flowers in May, and continued to call
it a maypole. Today, however, it is most commonly called a
midsommarstång.
In earlier times, small spires wrapped in greens were erected; this
probably predates the maypole tradition, which is believed by many
to have come from the continent in the Middle Ages. Others argue
that some form of Midsummer pole occurred in Sweden during the
pre-Christian times, and was a phallic fertility symbol, meant to
impregnate the earth, but as there were no records from those times
it cannot be proven, and this idea might just be a modern
interpretation of the poles form. The earliest historical mention
of the maypole in Sweden is from the Middle Ages. Midsummer was,
however, linked to an ancient fertility festival which was adapted
into
St. John's Day by the church,
even though it retained many pagan traditions, as the Swedes were
slow to give up the old heathen customs. The connection to
fertility is naturally linked to the time of year. Many young
people became passionate at Midsummer, and this was accepted,
probably because it resulted in more childbirths in March which was
a good time for children to be born.
In Denmark and Norway midsummer is referred to as the eve of
Skt. Hans but it's only in Sweden that it has
kept its original name.
United Kingdom
In
Great
Britain from the 13th century, Midsummer was celebrated on
Midsummer Eve (St. John's Eve, June 23) and St. Peter's Eve (June
28) with the lighting of bonfires, feasting and
merrymaking.
In late
fifteenth-century England, John Mirk of Lilleshall
Abbey, Shropshire
, gives the following description: "At first,
men and women came to church with candles and other lights and
prayed all night long. In the process of time,
however, men left such devotion and used songs and dances and fell
into lechery and gluttony turning the good, holy devotion into
sin." The church fathers decided to put a stop to these
practices and ordained that people should fast on the evening
before, and thus turned waking into fasting (
Festial
182).
Mirk adds that at the time of his writing, "
...in worship of St
John the Baptist, men stay up at night and make three kinds of
fires: one is of clean bones and no wood and is called a
"bonnefyre" [bonfire]; another is of clean wood and no bones, and
is called a wakefyre
, because men stay awake by it all
night; and the third is made of both bones and wood and is called,
"St. John's fire" (Festial 182)." These traditions largely
ended after the
Reformation,
but persisted in rural areas up until the nineteenth century before
petering out.
Other Midsummer festivities had uneasy relations with the Reformed
establishment. The
Chester Midsummer Watch
Parade, begun in 1498, was held at every Summer Solstice in
years when the
Chester Mystery
Plays were not performed. Despite the cancellation of the plays
in 1575, the parade continued; in 1599, however, the Lord Mayor
ordered that the parades be banned and the costumes destroyed. The
parade was permanently banned in 1675. Many people state that
fairies dance at midnight on midsummer's eve. You just may see one
if you stay up and watch for them.
Traditional Midsummer bonfires are still lit
on some high hills in Cornwall (see Carn
Brea
and Castle an Dinas, St. Columb
Major
). This tradition was revived by the
Old Cornwall Society in the early 20th
century.
Bonfires in Cornwall were once common as
part of Golowan, which is
now celebrated at Penzance
, Cornwall. This week long festival normally
starts on the Friday nearest St John's Day. Golowan lasts several
days and culminates in Mazey Day. This is a revival of the Feast of
St John (Gol-Jowan) with fireworks and bonfires.
Midsummer
festivals are celebrated throughout Scotland, notably in the
Scottish Borders where Peebles
holds its Beltane
Week. The Eve of St. John has special magical significance
and was used by
Sir Walter Scott as
the title, and theme, for a pseudo-ballad poem.
He invented a legend
in which the lady of Smailholm Tower
, near Kelso, keeps vigil by
the midnight fires three nights in a row (see above) and is visited
by her lover; but when her husband returns from battle, she learns
he slew that lover on the first night, and she has been entertained
by a very physical ghost.
In Wales it is called Gŵyl Ifan - great agricultural fairs used to
be held at this time, along with merriment and dancing. A bonfire
was also kept this night. With the advent of non-conformist beliefs
on the welsh socio-poiltical culture, this (among so many other
similar festivals)suffered greatly, and its observance finally died
out in SE Wales by the end of the 19th century. However, since
1977, a folk-dance revival stated in Cardiff, and is held now
annually on this feast day
June 24, Midsummer Day, the feast of
St. John the Baptist, is one of the
quarter days in England.
In recent years on
the Summer Solstice, English
Heritage has run a "Managed Open Access" to Stonehenge
for the Summer Solstice celebrations.
USA
Midsummer celebrations are held throughout the US.
The NYC Swedish Midsummer celebrations in Battery Park
, New York
City
, attracts some 3,000-5,000 people annually, which
makes it one of the largest celebrations after the ones held in
Leksand
and at the Skansen Park
in Stockholm
. Sweden Day, a
Midsummer celebration which also honors Swedish heritage and
history which has been held annually on the sound in Throgs Neck
, in New York
City since 1941. Swedish Midsummer is also celebrated in
other places with large Swedish and Scandinavian populations, such
as Chicago
, Minneapolis
, and Lindsborg, Kansas
. The Swedish "language village" (summer camp)
Sjölunden, run by Concordia College
in Minnesota, also celebrates
Midsummer.
Geneva, Illinois, hosts a Swedish
Day (Swedish:
Svenskarnas Dag) festival on the third Sunday
of June. The event, featuring maypole-raising, dancing, and
presentation of an authentic Viking ship, dates back to 1911.
The
Seattle,
Washington
neighborhood of Fremont
puts on a large Summer Solstice Parade
& Pageant, which for many years has controversially
included painted naked
cyclists. In St. Edwards Park in Kenmore,
Washington
, the Skandia
Folkdance Society hosts Midsommarfest, which includes a
Scandinavian solstice pole.
A
solstitial celebration is held on Casper Mountain
in Wyoming at Crimson Dawn park. Crimson Dawn is known in the area for the great
stories of mythical creatures and people that live on Casper
Mountain. The celebration is attended by many people from the
community, and from around the country. A large bonfire is held and
all are invited to throw a handful of red dirt into the fire in
hopes that they get their wish granted.
Neo-Paganism
As forms of
Neopaganism can be quite
different and have very different origins, these representations
can vary considerably, despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a
manner as close as possible to how they believe the Ancient
Germanic Pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the
holiday with rituals culled from numerous other unrelated sources,
Germanic culture being only one of the sources used. In
Neo-druidism, the term
Alban Hefin is
used for the summer solstice.
The name was invented by the late-18th
century Welsh
Romantic author and prolific literary forgerer
Iolo Morganwg.
Germanic Neo-Paganism
Midsummer, or
Litha, is listed on the reconstructed
Germanic calendar used by some
Germanic Neopagans. In modern
times, Litha is celebrated by
Germanic Neopagans who emphasise the
reconstruction of
Anglo-Saxon Germanic paganism.
See also
Notes
-
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/was-jesus-born-on-december-25-faq.htm
- Samuels, Brian. Aspects of Australian
Folklife
- Latvian town to mark summer solstice with naked
run
- http://www.gwylifan.org/
- Owen, William (1832) A Dictionary of the Welsh Language:
Explained in English; with Numerous Illustrations.
References
External links
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