Happy Litha!

Today - 21 June - is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and the subject of a play by Will Shakespeare.

That's right - the SUMMER solstice. And guess what? It's raining here in good old Blighty!

Of course the solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice a year when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme.

It is on this the day - also known as Midsummer's Day - that the sun appears at its most northerly point, which results in it being the day with the most hours of daylight. From here on in the nights begin to get shorter again until we reach the winter solstice in December.

The name 'solstice' is derived from two Latin words, sol, meaning 'sun', and sistere, meaning 'to stand still', because at the solstice, the Sun appears to stand still in declination - in other words, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.

People welcoming the sun rise on Midsummer's Day at Stonehenge in Wiltshire

Every 21 June hundreds of people travel to Stonehenge in Wiltshire to watch the sun rise. At this moment, the sun shines on the famous Heel Stone. For those of the Druidic faith, this is a very important moment of the year. Druidic celebrations also take place on Midsummer's Eve. Bonfires are lit to show respect for the Sun God, whose power is greatest at the Summer Solstice. The fires also represent an attempt to ward off the coming winter. Practice of this ancient ritual, which also includes a Summer Solstice Circle Dance, is now mainly confined to Cornwall, the West Country, and London's Hampstead Heath.

"So why 'Happy Litha'?" I hear you cry.

The name Litha may come from Saxon tradition - and is the opposite of Yule. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks. The Christian religion converted this day of Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (rather like the Greek Demi-God Pan).

The Green Man of Wells Cathedral Undercroft

If you fancy having your own solstice celebration but you can't get down to Stonehenge yourself, next year why not hire your own replica henge from these guys?

Mayday! May Day!

May 1, or May Day, is an ancient spring festival in the northern hemisphere, and is usually a public holiday. It is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations. 

The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times, with the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice was Midsummer.

As Europe became Christianized, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and All Saint's Day. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers in a May crowning.

May blossom, the flower of the May tree May Day has been a traditional day of festivities throughout the centuries. May Day is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility and revelry with village fetes and community gatherings. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and, in this form, may be best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance and crowning of the Queen of the May.

Did you know...?
Mayday, as an emergency procedure word, is used internationally as a distress signal in radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning 'come help me'.