Longest day of the year--Summer Solstice

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." 
-- Maori proverb


Today, June 21 2010 is the summer solstice. 

What exactly is this "longest day of the year" and why/who celebrates it?

Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to "stand still" in both its norther and southern progression in the sky. As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year and marks the beginning of the harvest season.


Celebrations
The sun celebrations are pre-Christian or pagan in origin. For centuries civilizations have celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer (see Shakespeare), St. John's Day, or the Wiccan Litha.  In Sweden, Finland and Estonia, Midsummer's Eve is   
considered the greatest festival of the year, comparable only with Walpurgis Night, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve. Wiccan-Pagans called the Midsummer moon the "Honey Moon" for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice. Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called 'chase-devil', which is known today as St. John's Wortand still used by modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer. The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun's energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light. Today, the day is still celebrated around the world - in England at Stonehenge and Avebury thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice; in Ecuador thousands cleanse their souls in rivers and water falls; here in America some adorn capes and celebrate the celestial calendar. Some celebrate Summer Solstice as the "wedding of Heaven and Earth", resulting in the present day belief of a "lucky" wedding in June.

Pagan spirit gatherings or festivals are also common in June, when groups assemble to light a sacred fire, and stay up all night to welcome the dawn. Click HERE for information on how individual countries celebrate.
For a much more indepth description of the history and traditions around today I like this Witchvox posting--click HERE!


Photos: 
Stonehenge photo here
Santa Barbara, Ca celebration here