How Pagans Celebrate Litha, The Summer Solstice
The holiday is marked with festivals, parades, bonfires and more.
· The Huffington Post
The summer solstice represents “the power of light over
darkness,” said one celebrant.
The summer solstice arrives
in the northern hemisphere on June 20, 2016, bringing with it the longest
day in the year — which means lots of extra sunlight for festivities. The day
is considered to be sacred by many pagans around the world who celebrate the
solstice among their other yearly holidays.
Some refer to the summer solstice
as “Litha,” a term that may derive from 8th century monk Bede’s The Reckoning of Time. Bede names “Litha”
as the Latin name for both June and July in ancient times.
The summer solstice is one of four solar holidays, along with the autumnal
equinox, the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. The other major pagan
holidays are Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh.
The summer solstice is one of four solar holidays, along
with the autumnal equinox, the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.
Observers celebrate the solstice in myriad ways, including
festivals, parades, bonfires, feasts and more. As one member of the Amesbury and Stonehenge Druids explains,
“What you’re celebrating on a mystical level is that you’re looking at light at
its strongest. It represents things like the triumph of the king, the power of
light over darkness, and just life – life at its fullest.”
Celebrations for the summer solstice take place around the
world, and not all are pagan-affiliated. One of the biggest pagan celebrations occurs at Stonehenge in England, but others take place
among indigenous Latin and South American communities, and in
Russia, Spain and other countries.
People do yoga in Times Square as part of the International
Day of Yoga celebration on the summer solstice, June 21, 2015 in New York City.
As the official first day of summer, the solstice is a time of
celebration. Cities around the world will mark the day with spiritual and
secular celebrations, like this yoga festival in New York’s Times Square.
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