June 21 - Summer Solstice - Litha

Although the name 'Litha' is not well attested, it may come from Saxon tradition - the opposite of 'Yule'. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks. The Christian religion converted this day of Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (like the Greek god Pan)! Midsummer Night's Eve is also special for adherents of the Faerie faith. The alternative fixed calendar date of June 25 (Old Litha) is sometimes employed by Covens. (The name 'Beltaine' is sometimes incorrectly assigned to this holiday by some modern traditions of Wicca, even though 'Beltaine' is the Gaelic word for 'May'.)

Read more here: » Wiccan Holidays: June 21 - Summer Solstice - Litha

Including:

• Summer solstice - The solar term Xiazhi in Chinese astronomy
• Summer solstice - Holidays

Read more here: » Summer solstice: Encyclopedia - Summer solstice

The height of summer, when the days are the longest and the nights are shortest - generally around June 21 or 22.

(See also: Summer Solstice, Magic, Shamanism, Pagan Dictionary)

The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. It is the parallel of latitude 66° 33' 39" south of the equator (in 2000). For everywhere within the Antarctic Circle, there is at least twenty-four hours of continuous daylight on the Summer Solstice, and at least twenty-four hours of continuous nighttime on the Winter Solstice. That is to say, one whole day during which the sun does not set, and one whole day during which the sun does not rise. This is because the earth is tilted a ...

Read more here: » Antarctic Circle: Encyclopedia - Antarctic Circle

The autumnal equinox (or fall equinox) marks the beginning of astronomical autumn. It occurs during the month of September in the Northern Hemisphere, and during March in the Southern Hemisphere. In Chinese culture it marks the middle of autumn. At the same moment that the autumnal equinox occurs in one hemisphere, it is the time of the vernal equinox in the other hemisphere. Autumnal equinox - The solar term Qiufen in Chinese astronomy. Qiufen (秋分) is a solar term begins whe ...

Including:

• Autumnal equinox - The solar term Qiufen in Chinese astronomy
• Autumnal equinox - Holidays

Read more here: » Autumnal equinox: Encyclopedia - Autumnal equinox

The vernal equinox (or spring equinox) marks the beginning of astronomical spring. It occurs during the month of March in the Northern Hemisphere, and during September in the Southern Hemisphere. In Chinese culture the vernal equinox marks the middle of spring. At the same moment that the vernal equinox occurs in one hemisphere, it is the time of the autumnal equinox in the other hemisphere. Vernal equinox - Chunfen in Chinese calendar. Chunfen (春分) is a solar term begins when Sun l ...

Including:

• Vernal equinox - Chunfen in Chinese calendar
• Vernal equinox - Holidays
• Vernal equinox - Egg-balancing myth

Read more here: » Vernal equinox: Encyclopedia - Vernal equinox

Wicca and Witchcraft: Holidays in Wicca and Witchcraft

Includes:

October 31 - November Eve - Samhain

December 21 - Winter Solstice - Yule

January 31 - February Eve - Imbolc

March 21 - Vernal Equinox - Lady Day

April 30 - May Eve - Beltaine

June 21 - Summer Solstice - Litha

July 31 - August Eve - Lughnassad

September 21 - Autumnal Equinox - Harvest Home

Read more here: » Wicca and Witchcraft: Holidays in Wicca and Witchcraft

Beltane or Beltaine (from Irish Beáltaine or Scottish Gaelic Bealtuinn; both from Old Irish Beltene, "bright fire" from *belo-te(p)niâ) is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated around May 1. "Bealtaine" (pronounced IPA /ˈbʲɑlˠ.t̪ˠə.n̪ʲə/) is the name in modern Irish for the month of May. It is also the traditional first day of summer in Ireland. It is a Cross-quarter day being midpoint in the Sun's progress between the Vernal Equinox an ...

Read more here: » Beltane: Encyclopedia - Beltane

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. This is the parallel of latitude that (in 2000) runs 66° 33' 39" north of the Equator. Everything north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south of this circle is the Northern Temperate Zone. The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day of the summer solstice in June and the polar night of the winter solstice in December. Within the Arctic Circle, the arctic Sun is above the horizon for at ...

Read more here: » Arctic Circle: Encyclopedia - Arctic Circle

The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið' "Icelandic fellowship of Æsir faith (Ásatrú)" is an Icelandic new religious movement with the purpose of reviving the pre-Christianization religion of Scandinavia. It was founded on summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. As of 2005, the Ásatrúarfélagid ...

Including:

• Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið - Related topics

Read more here: » Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið: Encyclopedia - Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið

Chester Midsummer Watch Parade - History. The Chester Midsummer Watch Parade began in 1498. At every Summer Solstice, Cestrians would march through the streets carrying torches and wearing costumes during years when the famous Chester Mystery Plays were not performed. A similar practise was performed every midwinter. Despite the cancellation of the plays in 1575, the parade continued for every year until 1675 (except for 1599, when the Mayor Henry Hardware ordered them banned and the costumes destroyed.

• Chester Midsummer Watch Parade - History
• Chester Midsummer Watch Parade - Modern Day

Read more here: » Chester Midsummer Watch Parade: Encyclopedia - Chester Midsummer Watch Parade

Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones, known as megaliths. There is some debate about the age of the stone circle, but most archaeologists think that it was mainly constructed between 2500 BC and 2000 BC. The older circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute perhaps the earliest phase o ...

Including:

• Stonehenge - Etymology
• Stonehenge - Development of Stonehenge
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 1
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 2
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3i
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3ii
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3iii
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3iv
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3v
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge 3vi
• Stonehenge - Theories about Stonehenge
• Stonehenge - Early interpretations
• Stonehenge - Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge
• Stonehenge - The bluestones
• Stonehenge - Stonehenge as part of a ritual landscape
• Stonehenge - Construction techniques and design
• Stonehenge - Alternative views
• Stonehenge - Excavations at Stonehenge
• Stonehenge - Myths and legends
• Stonehenge - Recent history
• Stonehenge - Laser scanning the Bronze Age dagger and axes at Stonehenge
• Stonehenge - Replicas and derivative names

Read more here: » Stonehenge: Encyclopedia - Stonehenge

Midsummer, or Litha as it was known by the ancient Germanic peoples and to this day by many Neopagans, refers the period of time centered upon the summer solstice and the religious celebrations that accompany it. Also called "Midsommar" in Swedish, Midsummer-related holidays, traditions and celebrations, many of which are non-Christian in origin (apart from the designation "St John's Day"), are particularly important in Finland and Sweden, but found also in other parts of Northern Europe, Britain and elsewhere. Including:

• Midsummer - History
• Midsummer - National traditions
• Midsummer - Denmark
• Midsummer - Finland
• Midsummer - Germany
• Midsummer - Ireland
• Midsummer - Italy
• Midsummer - Jersey
• Midsummer - Latvia
• Midsummer - Lithuania
• Midsummer - Norway
• Midsummer - Russia
• Midsummer - Sweden
• Midsummer - United Kingdom
• Midsummer - USA
• Midsummer - Neopaganism
• Midsummer - Litha
• Midsummer - External link

Read more here: » Midsummer: Encyclopedia - Midsummer

A cross-quarter day is a day falling halfway between one of the four main solar events (two solstices and two equinoxes) and the next one. These originated as pagan holidays in Northern Europe and the British Isles, and survive in modern times as neopagan holidays. The cross-quarter days traditionally mark the start of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively, and are: Imbolc or Imbolg (February 1) Beltane or Bealtaine (May 1) Lughnasadh o ...

Read more here: » Cross-quarter day: Encyclopedia - Cross-quarter day

Carhenge is a replica of England's Stonehenge located near the town of Alliance, Nebraska, in the American midwest. Instead of being made from stones, Carhenge is constructed of vintage American automobiles, all covered with gray spray paint. Built by Jim Reinders, it was dedicated at summer (June) solstice 1987. Thirty-eight automobiles were used in a circle measuring about 96 feet in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while arches have been formed by welding cars atop the supporting autos. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Carhenge replicates Stonehenge's current "tumble-dow ...

Read more here: » Carhenge: Encyclopedia - Carhenge

Autumnal Equinox Day (秋分の日, Shūbun no hi) is an official national holiday in Japan, and is spent visiting family graves, and holding family reunions. In the UK Harvest festival falls around this time. The autumnal equinox is when the Wiccan Sabbat of Mabon is celebrated. Autumnal Equinox Day is also "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. The French First Republic was proclaimed and the French monarchy was abolished on September 21, 1792, making the following day, Autumnal Equinox Day that year, the ...

See also:

Autumnal equinox, Autumnal equinox - The solar term Qiufen in Chinese astronomy, Autumnal equinox - Holidays

Read more here: » Autumnal equinox: Encyclopedia II - Autumnal equinox - Holidays

The Iranian festival of Norouz is celebrated on the vernal equinox, as are the Bahá'í Naw-Rúz (which marks the beginning a new year in the Bahá'í calendar), and the Wiccan Sabbat of Ostara (or Eostar). In Japan, Vernal Equinox Day (春分の日 Shunbun no Hi) is an official national holiday, and is spent visiting family graves and holding family reunions. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon day on or after the ecclesiastical vernal equinox day 21 March (see computus). Earth Day was initially celebrated on the vernal equinox, 21 March 1970. It is c ...

See also:

Vernal equinox, Vernal equinox - Chunfen in Chinese calendar, Vernal equinox - Holidays, Vernal equinox - Egg-balancing myth

Read more here: » Vernal equinox: Encyclopedia II - Vernal equinox - Holidays

The Celestial Equator and the Ecliptic are two Great Circles. As such, they intersect at two points, the Equinoxes. When the Sun, which moves along the Ecliptic, occupies the point that crosses the Equator while heading South, it is the time of the Autumnal Equinox. Due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, the point of intersection moves completely around the sky in a 25,800-year cycle. This century it is in the western end of Virgo near the star Z ...

See also:

Autumnal equinox, Autumnal equinox - Astronomy, Autumnal equinox - The solar term Qiufen in Chinese astronomy, Autumnal equinox - Holidays

Read more here: » Autumnal equinox: Encyclopedia II - Autumnal equinox - Astronomy

Autumnal Equinox Day (秋分の日, Shūbun no hi) is an official national holiday in Japan, and is spent visiting family graves, and holding family reunions. In the UK Harvest festival falls around this time. The autumnal equinox is when the Wiccan Sabbat of Mabon is celebrated. Autumnal Equinox Day is also "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. The French First Republic was proclaimed and the French monarchy was abolished on September 21, 1792, making the following day, Autumnal Equinox Day that year, the ...

See also:

Autumnal equinox, Autumnal equinox - Astronomy, Autumnal equinox - The solar term Qiufen in Chinese astronomy, Autumnal equinox - Holidays

Read more here: » Autumnal equinox: Encyclopedia II - Autumnal equinox - Holidays

John North Despite as many as 20,000 people visiting Stonehenge during the 2005 summer solstice, growing evidence indicates that ancestors did not visit at all in the summer, but rather during the winter solstice. The only megalithic monument in the British Isles to contain a clear, compelling solar alignment is Newgrange which famously faces the winter solstice sunrise. The most recent such evidence includes bones and teeth from pigs that were slaughtered at nearby Durrington Walls, their age at death indicating that they were ...

See also:

Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Early work, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Newham and the Station Stones, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Hawkins' work, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Thom's work, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Later theories, Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Reference

Read more here: » Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge: Encyclopedia II - Archaeoastronomy and Stonehenge - Later theories