Winter Solstice in 2024 2025 When, Where, Why, How is Celebrated?

15 Apr Winter Solstice in 2024 2025 When, Where, Why, How is Celebrated?

The ancients knew that, after the summer solstice, the winter solstice approaches gradually; the return of light, tempered by the awareness that the wheel will recommence its spinning movement indefinitely. Like many other Midsummer herbs, Mullein has a connection to Midwinter as an essential cure for phlegm removal. It is a mucilaginous plant that can be used topically to treat dry skin and boils, bruising, inflammation, hemorrhoids, eczema, sciatica, and joint discomfort. Ear oil with Mullein and garlic is a tried-and-true therapy for ear infections, reducing pain and infection. Mugwort has been regarded as one of the oldest herbs in indigenous Northern European traditions with reverence. Understanding the specificity of this herb and its connection with the Summer Solstice suggests that this herb has been regarded as a Moon herb.

1. Some wild plants are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.
2. During the year, the Sun’s path in the sky changes, either higher or lower.
3. Further north, the Atacama people formerly celebrated this date with a noise festival, to call the Sun back.
4. In many countries, the seasons of the year are determined by the solstices and the equinoxes.
5. In some parts of the world, people blend pagan and Christian traditions to celebrate Midsummer in conjunction with Saint John the Baptist’s birthday on June 24, which can include bonfires, barefoot walks and more.

The purpose of the spectacular boulder formations may still be cloaked in mystery, but they certainly serve as the perfect backdrop for a phenomenal solstice celebration. Incredibly, the historic stones align perfectly with the movement of the sun. Each year thousands of druids, pagans and ordinary folk gather to admire the spectacular views of the sunrise over the sacred site.

Burning a few leaves in the bedroom before going to bed or placing them beneath the pillow induces prophetic dreams. The astral junction on this holy day is represented by the sun’s entering the sign of Cancer, whose guardian planet is the moon. Small, slender leaves occur in twirls on the angular stems of Lady’s Bedstraw. The stems are adorned with shallow heads of small yellow flowers arranged in dense clusters.

In areas where the climate was more temperate, the Midwinter Festival would have been the last big feast before winter began. This was a time when cattle were slaughtered, so they wouldn’t have to be fed during the cold months of winter, so it was one of the few times of the year when meat was in plentiful supply. This was also the time when most alcoholic beverages had finally finished their fermentation stage and were ready to be enjoyed by all.

How to Stay Warm This Winter

The June solstice is important because it is at this time that the Sun reaches its northernmost position in the sky, when its course remains unchanged for a short period of time. Since prehistory, the summer solstice has been seen as a significant time of year in many cultures and has been marked by midsummer celebrations, festivals, and rituals. There are also many midsummer herbs that have significant meaning and use during the summer solstice. Because the earth’s orbit takes slightly longer than a calendar year of 365 days, the solstices occur slightly later each caendar year, until a leap day re-aligns the calendar with the orbit.

Midsummer’s eve was believed to be a time when the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest, and when fairies were thought to be at their most powerful. Crowds of around 10,000 traditionally greet the moment dawn breaks, as the sun rises behind the Heel Stone, the ancient entrance to the Stone Circle, with a mixture of cheers and silent meditation each June. One ritual was the lighting of fires, heralding the start of shorter days, although this does not happen often anymore. Read on below to find out everything you need to know about summer, the solstice, traditions and the significance of Stonehenge.

Ivan Kupala Day, Belarus

For the ancient cultures, the summer solstice was a period when people sought protection, purified environments, and interacted with spirits drawing analogies with flowers that correspond to this particular moment. “Midnight sun” describes the phenomenon surrounding the summer solstice, when the sun remains visible at midnight in the weeks leading up to and following the event. The “polar night” surrounds the winter solstice, when the sun remains below the horizon during the weeks leading up to and following the event.

Summer Solstice Rituals

The winter solstice was an important time for the ancient Romans as well, and they had several celebrations during this time of year. One of their most famous celebrations was Saturnalia—a holiday that was used to honor the god of agriculture, Saturn. This celebration would start several days before the winter solstice and it was a very exciting time for most Romans. Over the centuries, the June solstice has inspired many festivals and midsummer celebrations involving bonfires, picnics, singing, watching the sun rise and Maypole dancing.

The Night of San Juan (also referred to as the Bonfires of San Juan) is another solstice tradition based around fire, and is held on the eve of 23 June. The celebrations include musical performances featuring drums and wind instruments, native dances and rituals to honour Pachamama (Mother Earth). The stones were brought from estival solstice very long distances – the bluestones from the Preseli Hills more than 150 miles away, and the sarsens probably from the Marlborough Downs, 19 miles to the north. Stonehenge always welcomes an influx of garland-wearing hippies, druids and curious tourists who head to the mysterious stone circles and wait for the sun to appear.

Summer Solstice 2023 (Longest Day of the Year : When is Estival Solstice, Date, Fact

Each year, thousands of yoga enthusiasts from across the globe flock to Times Square in New York City to celebrate the summer solstice with free yoga classes. Midsummer traditionally involves gathering with family and friends, raising and dancing around a maypole, decorating houses https://turbo-tax.org/ with greenery, and enjoying delicious food and drink. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting summer solstice traditions from around the world. People around the world have long celebrated the occasion with a variety of wonderful cultural festivals and activities.

As one moves closer to the equator, the solstice becomes a veritable nonevent—both the summer and winter solstices have little effect on the days there. And thanks to modern technology and busy lives, many people in the mid-latitudes might not even notice the uniqueness of the solstice. A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. In many countries, the seasons of the year are determined by the solstices and the equinoxes.

St. John’s Wort, lavender, mullein, lady’s bedstraw, and mugwort but also calendula, chamomile, mint, rosemary, thyme, and verbena have all been regarded with reverence throughout the northern hemisphere. Such observance is held to take advantage of the maximum healing and magical potentials of these plants. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, two miles (3 km) west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around 13 feet (4 m) high, seven feet (2.1 m) wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal lintel stones. Inside these are free-standing trilithons, two bulkier vertical Sarsens joined by one lintel.

Herbs constitute a strong element for celebrating the Midsummer solstice due to their strong connections with magical and healing powers. The folkloric origins of the Midsummer Solstice have always sparked a lot of curiosity regarding the magical and spiritual expectation that this celebration brings. But no matter if you’re a farmer, baseball player, neo-pagan, or otherwise, enjoy the few extra minutes of sunshine on this longest day of the year.

In the Nordic country, the burning of huge bonfires on the eve of midsummer has long been a solstice ritual. Referencing the time period between the middle of the summer, this celebration predates Christianity and is primarily held close to the summer solstice. Stonehenge in Amesbury, Wiltshire, is the most popular place for Pagans to celebrate the longest day because it famously aligns to the solstices. The rising sun only reaches the middle of the stones one day of the year when it shines on the central altar.