SEASONS OF CELEBRATION

JUNE 21 ~~ MIDSUMMER (lesser sabbat quarter day)
Astronomical Date: Sun 15 Degrees Cancer
December 21st in Southern Hemisphere
Alban Hefin, Alban Heruin, Bonfire Night, Feast of Epona, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Letha, Litha, Midsummer's Eve, Midsummer Night's Eve, Summer Solstice, St. John's Eve, Vestalia

ACTIVITIES:
Berry Harvest
Deck House/Front Door (birch, fennel, St. John's wort, orpin, white lilies)
Divination
Cemetery Visits
"Setting the Watch" (large bonfires lit after sundown)
Summer Tree
Wicker Man
Witch Ladders (feathers tied in braids while making wishes)

CAULDRON: Protection

COLORS: RED, navy, gold, green, orange

DECORATIONS:
Blades
Flowers
Fruit
Seashells
Spears/Swords

FACTS AND FOLKLORE:
Litha means "longest day" (Norse/Anglo-Saxon)

Begin gathering summer herbs to dry for wintertime use
Festival of Li, Goddess of Light (Chinese)
First battle between Fir Bolgs and Tuatha De Danaan (Irish)
Focus turns outward, joys of plenty, tasting first fruits of the season
Holly King Takes Oak King (some traditions)
Icons: spear (Sun-God in glory), summer cauldron (Goddess in bounty)
Longest day of the year, shortest night
"Midnight Sun" (North)
Mother Goddess pregnant with coming harvest
"Night of the Verbena (Vervain)" (Spain)
Serpents engender 'glain' (serpent's egg, snake stone or Druid's egg)
Special magick: roses, rue, St. John's wort, vervain and trefoil
Sun honored at peak of potency
Victory of Lord of Darkness over Lord of Light
Year wanes until Yule

FEASTING:
Flowers
Honey
Summer Fruit: Berries, Citrus, Melons
Summer Greens/Salads
Summer Squash

BEVERAGES:
Ale
Beer
Lemonade
Mead