Hello Readers,
The month of June is the sixth month and already we have arrived at half way through the year when Midsummer Night heralds the longest day, giving a clear indication that shorter nights are on their way. The June Solstice has been associated with many ancient summer traditions and continues to be celebrated in modern society and it occurs on either June 20th, 21st or 22nd in the Gregorian calendar. The Solstice was an important source to help people manage their calendars and help organise when to plant and harvest crops. Some people believed that golden-flowered summer plants, especially Calendula and St Johns Wort had miraculous healing powers and therefore they were picked on Midsummer’s Eve. Bonfires were also lit to protect against evil spirits, which were also believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again. Witches were also believed to be travelling on their way to attend meetings with other powerful beings.
Stonehenge was built around 3100BC and it is believed that it was purposefully built to establish when the Summer Solstice occurred and interestingly the sun rises at a particular point on the horizon as viewed from the centre of the circle on the day of the June Solstice. It is thought that at that point the builders may have started counting the days of the year. There have been many other structures built in Europe for those exact, same reasons.
The idea of June Weddings also comes from the Celtic Calendar. On the Cross-Quarter-Day of Belthane, or May Day, young couples would pair off to court for three months and then be wed on the next Cross-Quarter-Day, Lammas Day, August 1st and because youth is impatient the waiting day was shortened to Mid June and so the popularity of June weddings was ensured.
Until Next Week,
Love and Light,
Linda and The Lulas xxx
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