Litha

Midsummer

June 20-22

(December 20-22 in the Southern Hemisphere)

Summer Solstice

Solstice

Again did the earth shift

Again did the nights grow long

And the days short

And the people

of the Earth were glad

and celebrated

each in their own ways

                                                                                        ~ borrowed from Diane Lee Moomey

Midsummer, or Litha, is the Summer Solstice: the longest day; and shortest night.

The Sun-God significance of the Midsummer Sabbat is, literally, clear as day. At the Summer Solstice, he is at his highest and brightest, and his day is at its longest. Midsummer is perhaps the most celebratory of the festivals, in the sense that it rejoices in the full flood of the year's abundance, the apogee of light and warmth...the God is at the peak of his glory; the peak of light. (Eight Sabbats for Witches, by Janet & Stewart Farrar ©1988)

Litha is noted for festivities, revivals of ancient rituals, and the burning of bonfires in the British Isles. (Witchcraft Today ~ Encyclopedia of Wiccan & NeoPagan Traditions, by James R. Lewis ©2001)

Midsummer's Eve, known as Litha and the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. This is the Sun God at his mightiest, the height of his reign, and also the very moment when he begins his decline, as the days give way in the coming months to darkeness...Midsummer is a festival of growth and glory -- even as the God begins to wane, his light will be transformed within the womb of the Earth as the fruits and grains of the coming harvest...Midsummer is also when the realm of faerie is the most astir. Faerie magic is powerful, mischevious, and, at times, unpredictable. (Simple Wicca, by Michele Morgan ©2000)

The Longest Day When the Sun Is Strongest and the Earth is Fertile and Abundant: If you can, get up as soon as the Sun rises, and go outside again at noon when the Sun's power is greatest, and be outside again to see the Sun set. (Witch Crafting, by Phyllis Curott ©2001)

Midsummer Eve, by Edward Robert Hughes

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