Everything you need to know about Summer Solstice
Happy Summer Solstice!
Summer Solstice is today or tomorrow depending on where you live. It marks the longest day and the shortest night and thus the beginning of summer.
There’s two Solstices per year, Summer (Midsummer) and Winter Solstice (Yule) read more about Winter Solstice here.
Summer Solstice is also referred to as Midsummer or Litha as the pagans called it. The pagans believed that we need to celebrate Litha because we must embrace the good days before the darker days arrive. If we don’t celebrate our abundance, our fertility, and our success, then the darker days become even more bleak and unbearable.
Traditionally Midsummer or Litha was often celebrated with a big bonfire or torchlight processions, as it was believed that now is the time that veils are super thin, and the fire symbolized the warmth and energy of the sun. In some places there are still bonfire celebrations up till this day, however, only few know what is actually celebrated.
This is also a time that I associate with family gatherings. Barbecues, fireworks, or going to the beach. I’d say celebrate it however you want, embracing these warm and lush summer days.
From this point on, the Sun will begin to set a little bit earlier every night until Yule. We give thanks now for its warmth and we are in awe of its power. The season of harvest is coming soon, and the hard work of caring for our young gardens is now past, but now we pause to enjoy our hard work.
