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June 20th or 21st is the day when the North Pole has its maximum tilt toward the Sun, about 23.5 degrees, and sunlight hits the Northern Hemisphere more directly and for a longer duration, making it the longest day and shortest night of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, it happens around December 21st or 22nd.
In many places it's a cue to enjoy the outdoors, host festivals, or simply watch the sunrise and sunset. You may see people dancing barefoot in circles, flirting around bonfires, and drumming naked in the forest, while others dress up like ancient Celtic priests.
Across many cultures, the summer solstice has been observed for thousands of years and is often associated with festivals around fertility and harvest, sun worship, fire rituals, and spiritual ceremonies.
In parts of pre-Christian Europe especially in Germanic, Celtic, and Norse cultures, Midsummer’s Eve was considered a night when the veil between worlds was thin, and wild behaviour was more accepted. Rites were symbolic of the union between the Earth (feminine) and the Sun (masculine) and could involve marriages of gods and goddesses enacted by priests and priestesses, and the pairing of young people for courtship, sometimes chosen through games or lot, to promote fertility and ensure good harvests. These practices often focused on celebrating life, abundance, and the creative power of nature.
Some summer solstice festivals get their wires crossed and set up a maypole, which is actually from May Day. This also focuses heavily on fertility, passion, and is widely interpreted as a phallic symbol, representing the masculine, especially when it’s erected upright in the earth, often interpreted as the feminine.
The act of dancing around the pole with ribbons, often by men and women weaving in opposite directions, represents the intertwining of masculine and feminine energies—a symbolic sexual union that celebrates fertility and life.
These rituals were seen as joyful, life-affirming, and deeply connected to the natural cycles of growth and reproduction.
Stonehenge attracts thousands of visitors on summer solstice. Built over several phases between c.3000 BCE and 1600 BCE, it clearly had ritual and astronomical significance and aligns precisely with the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice. Predating Celtic Druids or modern Pagans, the site has long been connected with nature-based spirituality with Paganism being a broad umbrella term that includes many polytheistic, or earth-centred spiritual paths like: Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry/Asatru (Norse) and Hellenic Reconstructionism. They share core characteristics including:
Paganism is a growing spiritual movement, especially among people seeking a revival of ancient wisdom, and more personal or nature-connected spirituality with rituals tied to the seasons and moon cycles.
Michael Van Clarke
Caramelised Spanish toast — or "Torrijas caramelizadas" — is a heavenly Spanish dessert that's especially beloved during Easter but enjoyed year-round for its rich, indulgent flavour and custardy texture...
You can fake it with the ‘head upside down and empty a can of hairspray’ trick, but I don’t recommend this. For volume that looks and feels natural and lasts, the following ideas help. The more techniques you use the more lasting the volume.
