New Sweden, Maine. Ever since 51 Swedish immigrants came to Aroostook County, Maine in 1870, supported by a Legislative Act authored by William W. Thomas Jr., who had served as American Consul in Sweden under Abraham Lincoln, residents of the town have celebrated Midsommar. Celebrations are usually held the weekend before the holiday in Sweden and merge Swedish traditions such as the decorating and raising of the Midsommar pole, folk dancing, and feasting alongside American traditions. Thomas Jr. selected this region for a Swedish colony, in part, because the landscape, flora and fauna are similar to that of Dalarna County, Sweden.

Forsythe, Gary (2012). Time in Roman Religion: One Thousand Years of Religious History. Routledge. pp.123, 182. Varro places the equinoxes and solstices at the midpoints of the seasons ... His dating for the beginnings of the four seasons are as follows: February 7 for spring, May 9 for summer, August 11 for autumn, and November 10 for winter. In Italy, St John's ( San Giovanni's) Day has been celebrated in Florence since medieval times with festivals sometimes lasting three days from 21 to 24 June. In medieval Florence, midsummer celebrations were "an occasion for dramatic representations of the Baptist's life and death" and "the feast day was marked by processions, banquets, and plays, culminating in a fireworks show that the entire city attended." [6] The 15th-century diarist Goro Dati described the celebration of Saint John's Day in Florence as being one in which guilds prepared their workshops with fine displays, and one in which solemn church processions took place, with men dressed in the costumes of Christian saints and angels. [56] a b c "Midsummer". Government of Sweden. 10 January 2018 . Retrieved 25 March 2018. In Sweden, they were mainly found in the southern part of the country. Young people also liked to visit holy springs, where they drank the healing water and amused themselves with games and dancing. These visits were a reminder of how John the Baptist baptised Christ in the River Jordan.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. a b Tornabuoni, Lucrezia (2001). Sacred Narratives. University of Chicago Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780226808529. Perhaps most famously, the ancient monument Stonehenge has for some time been the centre of a ritual celebration. This comes from the fact the stones are lined up to frame the rising of the Sun on the solstice, perhaps suggesting a connection to the day and as a celebration of Sun. However it isn’t clear if marking summer solstice was indeed its purpose. The stones also mark the position of sunset on the winter solstice, and so may instead indicate a place to request the return of the summer months. Since 1955, the holiday has always been on a Saturday (between June 20 and June 26). Earlier it was always on June 24. Many of the celebrations of midsummer take place on Friday, midsummer eve, when many workplaces are closed and shops may close their doors at noon.

A rich and elegant exploration that takes us to unexpected places. With the swift as our lift, we leave the garden on an extraordinary tour that takes in the moon, amongst many other wonderful destinations Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree Ovi Magazine: Finnish midsummer consumed by alcohol by Thanos Kalamidas". www.ovimagazine.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020 . Retrieved 11 September 2020.

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In Porto and Braga St. John's is celebrated in the streets, where many normally frowned-upon things are permitted. People carry a plant of flowering leek ( alho-porro, which has a pungent smell) with them, and run it over the face of other people. [63] Starting in 1963, people have also carried a small plastic hammer which they use to bang their neighbors over the head. [64] The tradition is that St. John was a scalliwag in his youth and the people hit him on the head with the garlic saying "return to the right path".

The holiday originated as a pagan celebration to welcome the summer season and ensure a successful harvest. It may have been associated with local gods, such as Ukko, the Finnish god of thunder who controlled the rain and thus the fertility of the land. Festivities included dancing, singing, drinking, cleaning house, lighting bonfires, and collecting flowers. It's not often I am moved to tears. I wish you could reprint the last chapter of One Midsummer's Day as a free-standing essay and give it out to every schoolchild in the country Kathleen Jamie, author of The Tree House In the worship of St John, men waken at even, and maken three manner of fires: one is clean bones and no wood, and is called a bonfire; another is of clean wood and no bones, and is called a wakefire, for men sitteth and wake by it; the third is made of bones and wood, and is called St John's Fire. [28] Marks the traditional middle of summer, beginning of Meteorological summer, and the nativity of St. John the Baptist. Laffan, Rebecca. "Bonna Night: The folklore, origins and history of Cork's very own bonfire night", Cork Beo, June 23, 2023The date also marks the end of harvest for spring vegetables such as asparagus ("Spargelsilvester") [51] or for rhubarb.