Let the Sun Shine

As most of you out there know, the solstice is one of my most favorite and dearest of holidays. I feel lucky to be able to spend it in Alaska, where the sun will barely dip below the horizon tonight, thus lighting our whole night. As we have barbecues, bikes rides and bonfires, here are some cool traditions and beliefs i found in lots of other places!

-The Seattle, Washington neighborhood of Fremont puts on a large Summer Solstice Parade & Pageant, which for many years has controversially included painted naked cyclists.

-"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." (UK)

-Midsummer rivals Christmas as the most important holiday of the year due to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed. (UK)

-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.

-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.

-In the past it was believed that herbs picked at Midsummer were highly potent, and water from springs could bring good health.

- It is arguably the most important holiday of the year in Sweden and Finland

-Parties are organised usually at beaches, where bonfires are lit and a set of firework displays usually take place (Spain)

-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. (portugal)

- 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 neighbours over the head for good luck. (portugal)

-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. (lisbon)

-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 symbolise the blossoming of new life. -In medieval times, this festival was celebrated with cat-burning rituals. (france)

-Many music festivals of all sizes are organized on the Midsummer weekend. A great many people get very drunk and happy. The statistics for the number of people drowned and killed in road accidents and other mishaps are morbidly counted every year while the number of assaults also peaks. (Finland)

-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. (estonia)

Just some things to think about- so go dance around a maypole, jump over a bonfire, find a lover and summon the magical powers of the sun!