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In the western town of Kuldīga, revellers mark the holiday by running naked through the town at three in the morning. The event has taken place since 2000. Runners are rewarded with beer, and police are on hand in case any "puritans" attempt to interfere with the naked run. [57]
Referencing the time period between the middle of the summer, this celebration predates Christianity and is primarily held close to the summer solstice. In 2024 the autumnal equinox will occur on 22 September at 12.44pm GMT (1.44pm BST). When do the equinoxes occur in 2023 and 2024?Bonfires have been a way to celebrate Midsummer since the Viking age, when they were lit to ward off evil spirits for the coming harvest season. In late 14th-century England, John Mirk of Lilleshall Abbey, Shropshire, gives the following description: "At first, men and women came to church with candles and other lights and prayed all night long. In the process of time, however, men left such devotion and used songs and dances and fell into lechery and gluttony turning the good, holy devotion into sin." The church fathers decided to put a stop to these practices and ordained that people should fast on the evening before, and thus turned waking into fasting. [72] The UK will enjoy 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight. The sun will rise at 4.43am and set at 9.22pm in London. Many Finns leave the cities for Midsummer and spend time in the countryside. Nowadays many spend at least a few days there, and some Finns take their whole vacation at a summer cottage. Traditions include bonfires, cookouts, sauna and spending time together with friends or family. Heavy drinking is also associated with the Finnish midsummer, [44] [45] which is one common reason for the increase in the number of accidents, such as drowning. [46] [47] [48]
Petrarch, Epistolae familiares, Aachen,21 June 1333, noted by Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory 1995:265. Feast of Saint John the Baptist, Summer Solstice, St. John's Feast Day, Jāņi, Enyovden, Līþa/ Lithe, Midsommar, Ivan Kupala Day, Juhannus, Mittumaari, Alban Hefin, Gŵyl Ganol yr Haf, Sankthans, Joninės, Jaanipäev, Keskikesä, Kresna noč Scandinavians have been celebrating Midsummer since the Iron Age (during which time the Viking Age took place). The holiday, which has pagan roots, was used as a time to pray for abundant harvest. It was also celebrated fertility, light, and nature. Midsummer marks the “middle” of summer, the summer solstice, the longest day of the year between sunrise and sunset. Midsummer Eve 2023 is on Friday, 23 June. It's always celebrated on a Friday between 19 and 25 June. Why do you celebrate Midsummer? Jaanipäev is usually spent in a summer cottage, where people light bonfires, or at a festival, such as Pühajärve Jaanituli in Otepää.
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Main article: Jaanipäev Estonians celebrating Midsummer with a bonfire and traditional village swing in Keemu, Pärnu County. In the days leading up to the summer solstice, the ancient Romans celebrated Vestalia, a religious festival in honor of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. During Vestalia, married women could enter the temple of Vesta and leave offerings to the goddess in exchange for blessings for their families. Midsummer is the longest day of the year and was long considered a magical night. In agrarian times, the Swedes arranged Midsummer celebrations to welcome summertime and the season of fertility. Read more about the origins of Swedish Midsummer at sweden.se. Who can celebrate Midsummer? Neolithic humans may initially have started to observe the summer solstice as a marker to figure out when to plant and harvest crops. In Ancient Egypt, the summer solstice corresponded with the rise of the Nile River. Its observance may have helped to predict annual flooding.
The date also marks the end of harvest for spring vegetables such as asparagus ("Spargelsilvester") [51] or for rhubarb. Elsewhere around the world, celebrations range from the biannual appearance of the feathered serpent shadow on the pyramid at Chichén Itzá in Mexico to a range of floral-themed events in countries like Sweden and Latvia. Summer solstice celebrations of Christianity, Judaism, Neopaganism, etc". Religioustolerance.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28 . Retrieved 2011-06-20. The term “solstice” derives from the Latin word “solstitium”, meaning “sun standing still”. Some prefer the more teutonic term “sunturn” to describe the event. Midsummer’s Eve is typically a large event with many people together. Because Swedes often use Midsummer as the first day of their summer holiday, this is a great time to get in all your social meetings in one go! Then you can relax at your coastal cabin, or whatever else you plan to do on your vacation.Lighting the fire, thanking God for his blessings and crops, and praying for the peace of the souls of the dead were parts of this ancient Iranian tradition. This ceremony coincides with harvesting in Gilan.
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