Today, June 20th,
is the solstice, and the first day of summer! And while spring is probably my
favorite season overall, I have a longstanding affection for the early days of
summer and the surge of energy and enthusiasm that often accompanies them.
Celebrating the
solstice, which can include Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day ( June 23-24), can take many forms. In Santa Barbara, where I lived for several years, there would be a parade on the Saturday nearest the official
date. Spectators would line up for blocks to watch fantastically dressed people
and/or elaborate floats travel from lower State Street to Alameda Park.
Usually, there would be a theme. Last year, it was “Sci-Fi”—this year it will
be “Legends.” (Click on the following link to see the 2015 parade in full swing.)
A similarly festive atmosphere can be found in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, where the solstice is celebrated with floral wreaths, dancing around the maypole, and—of course—a big feed, featuring herring, schnapps, and strawberries!
And in several
parts of England, blazing bonfires are lit on St. John’s Eve (June 23), though
as a native Southern Californian, I admit to being wary of fires—even celebrational ones—on general
principle. Not to mention being reminded of a certain climactic scene of The Wicker Man...
Open-air music
festivals are another popular way to mark the occasion. Like the Secret
Solstice/Midnight Sun Festival in Reykjavik, Iceland. Or the Glastonbury
Festival, which is held over three days on the same dairy farm that introduced
it way back in the ‘70s. (In recent years, bands as famous as U2 and the Rolling
Stones have performed there.)
Photo by Paul Holloway |
Others prefer to
observe the solstice more quietly. Like travelers who make a special pilgrimage
to Stonehenge to watch the sun rise above the Heel Stone. (It should be noted
that dancing, drumming, and kissing often accompany this ritual.)
Finally, June
21—a date on which the solstice often falls—was recently designated
International Yoga Day, which is supposedly less about exercise and more about
finding inner harmony and balance.
But however one
celebrates the solstice, and whichever aspects of it one chooses to celebrate,
putting more positive energy into the universe can be only a good thing.
Happy first day
of summer!
Pamela Sherwood
Every year I am so surprised by the first day of summer because it fees like summer here in April!
ReplyDeleteWe get a milder spring here in SoCal, but today--the summer solstice--we're getting a bona fide heat wave with triple digit temperatures predicted!
ReplyDelete