Summer Time

Summer time and the going is easy.......

Summer Solstice

The day the north pole is nearest the Sun is called the 'summer solstice'. Looking from Earth, the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky all year. This means it takes the most amount of time to cross the sky. So this is the longest day of the year. Its called the 'summer solstice' and happens around 21 June. Astronomers call this the start of summer and after this date, days start getting shorter.


Stonehenge Summer Solstice

A celebration of life - standing amongst the towering stones with 30,000 others watching the sun rise on the magical midsummer morning.It's great to be able to stand inside the sacred circle of sarsens as our ancestors did as dawn appears over the Heel Stone - much better than from behind a fence. A traditional way to celebrate the longest day of the year.There's an amazing communal excitement at the solstice sunrise as the spiritual ancestry of this prehistoric temple is celebrated - with whoops of joy, drumming, horn blowing, cheering and applause...it makes you feel good to be alive.This re-enacting of an ancient ceremony brings a mystical link, stretching right back through the aeons of time, producing almost a celebratory communion with our ancestors.The mighty stones seem to breathe...


Midsummer Day

With the coming of Christianity, many midsummer celebrations were moved to the feast of St John the Baptist (24th June). St John baptised people outdoors in the River Jordan, so there have always been open air celebrations on his day. Midsummer Fires In some places, people light fires on midsummer eve. They stay up until midnight to welcome in midsummer day, and, when the fires die down, men run or jump through the embers to bring good luck. Don't try this at home!

Midsummer Magic

People thought that midsummer was a time of magic and wonder-working. Evil spirits were said to appear, and people gathered herbs and flowers to protect themselves. One of the most powerful was the plant known as 'chase-devil', which we now call St John's Wort. People used it in potions, and wove the flowers into garlands to decorate their houses or protect their farm animals. They believed that the herb could shield them from the power of evil spirits and could help them foretell the future. Herbalists still use St John's Wort in their medicines today.