Today, June 21, is the summer solstice, which in the northern hemisphere means a really, really long day (and, in the southern hemisphere, a really, really short one)–your latitude may vary.
Pagans often make a big, sacrilegious deal out of the summer solstice, but I don’t think that ought to stop Christians from taking note of the day. After all, God set up the Earth to have a summer solstice, and it’s a day of note in the planet’s annual cycle. We just don’t have to attribute any magical significance to the day.
The day is also known as Midsummer, which is totally kitty-corner to the way we in the U.S. commonly reckon summer as beginning on the day.
Maybe I’ll listen to an audio book of Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM tonight.
Pleasant dreams.
It’s my birthday, too!
Somehow I picked up the factoid that the ancient Celts ritually deflowered a virgin on midsummer’s day. Any antiquarians around to disabuse me of this notion?
we did. we all got up and watched the sun rise. and said the angelus. and did a pagan ritual sun worshipping dance. (just kidding about the last part)
A perspective of Christian liturgical appropriation of cosmological events.
On June 24 (three days after the Summer solstice), we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist . The sun will now “spend” increasingly less time in the sky until the Winter solstice.
On December 25 (a few days after the Winter solstice), we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the Winter solstice onwards, the sun will “take back” the sky.
Summer solstice: the daylight begins to decrease.
Winter solstice: the sunlight begins to increase.
John the Baptist said of himself and the Lord, “He must increase; I must decrease.”
The solstices can be used to remind us of Christ.
*snicker* Ed Peters’ comment appeared at first to be a reply to Kevin Jones’ comment…
Hey, be sure to listen to Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well. The overture is fantastic. Of course, everyone already knows the Wedding March…
Brad, yes, weird. when i wrote, there was nothing there, but when it posted, it came in second behind Kevin. weird.
“Today, June 21, is the summer solstice, which in the northern hemisphere means a really, really long day…”
You mean the day is 25 hours long today? (runs for cover)
Yes, down here it was the shortest day yesterday, and with the Shi….(Oops) dirtiest weather of the winter so far.
So OUR today being 22nd June, the feast day of Sts. John Fisher and Thomas Moore is a good day despite the rain which has reduced to showers with periods of sunshine. At 9 a.m Mass this morning our terrific young priest, Gerard Boyce gave us a little history of John Fisher – how many of the things Henry V111 claimed were actually done by someone else under his sponsorship.
Hence, Henry V111’s claim for the title of Defender of the Faith for his refutation of Martin Luther’s attack on the Seven Sacsrments was actually composed/written by John Fisher.
Kevin said:
>Somehow I picked up the factoid that the ancient Celts ritually deflowered a virgin on midsummer’s day. Any antiquarians around to disabuse me of this notion?
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Ew. No, that wasn’t a Celtic thing as far as I know. Now, in fact, the solstices and equinoxes weren’t really big things to the Irish, Scots, and Welsh, AFAIK. The associated traditions they have seem to have shown up late, and seem connected either to Our Friends the Norse, Our Friends the English, or being Catholic.
It was the so-called “cross-quarter days” that the Irish and Scots got into — Imbolc, Beltane, Lugnasad and Samain. Beltane and Lugnasad, being in warm weather, were associated with teenagers carrying on, but the religious rituals appear to centered more on fertility and health for sheep (Imbolc), cattle health and fire (Beltane), and a good harvest (Lugnasad). Oh, yeah, and dead people, cold weather, and the end of the year (Samain).
If I ever wrote a Celtic fantasy novel, it would involve massive amounts of research into animal diseases and the problems of raising cattle on an island whose climate won’t support hay. Yeah, buddy.
Clarification:
The solstices and equinoxes were important as calendar dates; you wanted to know when the seasons were coming along. The ancient Celts were very interested in astronomy for such purposes, had a lunar calendar, and all of that. Obviously you’ve got stone circles and Newgrange and stuff like that, too — though I can’t remember whether or not those weren’t built before the Celts came waltzing into the British Isles.
But all the important stuff in legend happened on the cross-quarter days.