Litha: A Midsummer Night's Beam



A Solstice Fire (By Jon Sullivan)

Those dancing beams that light up the Midsummer nights might not be from June bugs.  They might instead be from Litha bonfires.

As part of his painstaking calculations regarding the date that Easter should fall on, the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede wrote a treatise called De temporum ratione (The Reckoning of Time).  In it, he referred to the approximate months of June and July as the “early Litha month” and the “later Litha month.”  According to

Wikipedia, the term “Midsummer” can either refer to the summer-solstice time period, or to the many traditions that are associated with this magical time of year.

Pre-Christian Midsummer traditions were especially prevalent in Northern Europe.  Twopagans.com reports

that ancient Litha rites were “boisterous communal festivities” that included “dancing, singing, storytelling,

pageantry, and feasting,” as well as after-dark bonfires and torchlight processions.  The power of the Litha fire was thought to bring “prosperity and protection for oneself and ones clan.”  The charred embers from these fires were kept long afterwards and utilized as charms to ward off ill luck.  Homes were also decorated

with “birch, fennel, St. John’s Wort, orpin, and white lilies for blessing and protection.”

When Christianity came to regions that celebrated Litha, practices from the two traditions began mixing.  Because Luke 1:36 reports that John the Baptist’s mother Elizabeth was already six months pregnant when Jesus was conceived, St. John’s birthday is traditionally celebrated on June 24 – six months before Christmas. 

Because this is also the time of Litha, St. John’s Day events have often incorporated elements of Litha celebrations.  Wicca.com tells us that St. John was often portrayed as a Pan-type rustic character, sometimes even “with horns and cloven feet.”  The ancient Litha Sun God who sat on a greenwood throne (Jack-in-the-Green) began appearing in church architecture as a face “peering from countless foliate masks.”  Bonfires have continued to shine their beams for all to bask in.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer

http://www.twopagans.com/holiday/Litha.html

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/litha.htm

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%201:30-1:36&version=KJV

Copyright June 21, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved