The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. In the Northern Hemisphere it occurs between June 20 and 22, depending on the year. Solstice is Latin from sol (sun) and stitium (still). Going back to prehistory, people noticed the sun stopped moving in the middle of summer then began tracking southward again as summer turned to autumn. Observations of the Summer Solstice may have begun with Neolithic humans using it as a marker to figure out when to plant and harvest crops.
My Duology of Druids In The Mist and The Warrior and the Druidess is set in 1st Century AD when the Druids let the Summer Solstice Celebration.
I write a lot of Celtic Romances among other fantasy romance books and the Summer Solstice was Celebrated by the ancient Celts. They called it Alban Hefin, which means the 'The Light of the Shore' or 'Light of Summer'. Celebrating the longest day of the year involved a lot of feasting and dancing around bonfires. The iron age Celts lit bonfires on top of hills, at crossroads or in large openings like fields. These tall, blazes were symbolic of the sun. And, midsummer fell halfway through the growing season. The Celt’s believed the fires would boost the sun’s energy and guarantee a good harvest for the fall.
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Timeless Voyage is also set in 1st century AD when Druids let the Midsummer Celebrations.
For the Summer Solstice, women and girls wore flowers in their hair and decorated their round houses with garlands.
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Queen of Kings is set toward the end of Bronze Age Ireland, an era in which the Summer Solstice was celebrated.
Couples would hold hands as they leaped over the Solstice Fire together as that brought fertility to their relationship and to their crops. The higher they jumped the higher the crops would grow.
I hope you all had a great Summer Solstice and find some time to get in some hot summer reading.
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