Sometimes you just need to blare “Concerning Hobbits” over the bluetooth speakers throughout the house at 7:29am while making breakfast and that’s okay.
Traditionally
the night of the 23rd and the morning of the 24th of June is the time to
celebrate Midsummer in Northern Europe (rather than the astronomical solstice),
specifically within Germanic paganism. Later the Christian feast of Saint John the Baptist
took
this place, but even then the old rituals persisted.
The Midsummer
celebration was (and is) celebrated with eating, drinking, singing, dancing and flirting.
Whatever was dreamed during this night was thought to be prophetic, and it was the
perfect time to find a partner, or ensure marital bliss and fertility. It was
also one of the nights when spirits, witches and werewolves were known to roam
free, and a lot of the rituals belonging to it in the Netherlands have to do with protection:
The Fire
The bonfire is central to the celebration. This bonfire needed to be lit fresh, not
from an already burning fire, as it was a cleansing fire.
People
would dance around it in a circle and sing. People also jumped over it, both alone and
in pairs, to ensure all the good fortune Midsummer might bring.
Cattle were
also brought to walk past the fire to bless them.
The ashes
from the fire could be taken home to be scattered at the door for protection.
The Flowers
Plants
gathered on this day were thought to possess great magical power. Some herbs
were thrown into the fire during the dance.
People wove
garlands of flowers and leaves (like cornflowers, St John’s-wort, and beech
and hazel) and wore them during the dance.
These
wreaths were carried home and kept until they wilted, so they would protect
against evil and misfortune, like thunder, fire and illness.
In some
places bunches were made instead of wreaths, which were hung above the doors or
windows for the same kind of protection.
The Dew
People washed
themselves in the morning dew for good health.
Those who were not able (or willing) to go rambling and rolling in the grass at the crack
of dawn could spread cloths on the grass during the night, to collect the dew that would form in the morning.
In some
places the custom was to bathe in the running water of a stream.
“Stories never really end… even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don’t end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page.”
Some of you have never read The Secret Garden in the springtime and felt your spirit awaken and bud and flower along with the miracle of nature and in 2021 especially, you should.
People who like rocks see cool rocks everywhere. People who like birds see interesting birds everywhere. The tree on your yard could be an exceptional specimen. The world around you could be amazing and magical, but you aren’t enough of a nerd to see it.
I gave my mum Alexandra Horowitz’s On Looking: Eleven Walks Through Expert Eyes for her birthday this year, it’s a book that revolves around this idea: the author invites 11 specialists in different things to walk around a boring city block with her one after the other so they can point out to her the things they see, that she doesn’t notice. There’s an expert in typography talking about what the variety of fonts on urban signs can tell you about the city’s history, an entomologist pointing out all the urban insects no one pays attention to, a geologist, a sound engineer…
See this is what I mean by “there are more wonders in this world than you can ever dream of and all you need to do is listen to its stories and see it’s magic. ”
I remembered this book existed a couple of months ago and couldn’t remember the name of it! I am very happy now and off to my library’s website to place a hold.
