Pagan: Midsummer

Midsummer.
The Solstice. the longest day of the year.

Today, the days begin to grow shorter again.
August 1 will be the same length as May 1, and by September, day and night will be equal again.

Some Christians celebrate it as St. John's eve, the birth of John the Baptist. They have borrowed many of the old ways, including the bonfires.

It is a time for blessing crops, for turning the Year Wheel, and for making pledges at the fire. According to legend, which has continued, If you wish to pledge, you grasp your partner's hand and leap through the baelfire. Breaking the hands means breaking the vow. Some groups begin drumming at sun-up and drum until sunset.

Some say it is a time for the Fae, for seeing faeries,

For me, it is a time to welcome back the darkness. For all that I am solar powered, I need the night as well. As we turn again to the dark half of the year, enjoy the warmth and growth, but welcome the growing time of rest.

For Sabbat feasting:

Lunchtime Cranberry Sun Mold

2 -3oz packages orange flavored gelatin
2 7oz bottles ginger ale
1 1lb can whole cranberry sauce
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 83/4 oz crushed pineapple, undrained
1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

In saucepan, combine gelatin and cranberry sauce. Heat and stir until almost boiling. Stir in undrained crushed pineapple and ginger ale. Remove from heat and stir until fizzing has stopped. Pour into round mold. Chill until set. Unmold onto a serving dish with a layer of lettuce leaf bedding.

Garnish with orange and grapefruit sections. Top with alternating orange and grapefruit sections in a "pinwheel" array. Serve as salad or dessert. 

High Summer, Beloved.