Midsummer Eve

Midsummer Eve (St John's Eve): bonfires and a magickal herb

Click image at right for larger view of a bonfire
I enjoyed a few years ago

Saint John's Eve is the night before the Feast Day of St John the Baptist, and in Europe, from pre-Christian times, Summer Solstice festivities and spiritual practices have been a part of this day. Also called Midsummer Eve, June 23 is a time rich in folklore.

On this night in olde Britain, people would go into the woods and bring back branches to their homes, celebrating the eve of the birth of John the Baptist (the only Christian saint whose birth date is a feast, as well as the day of his death – August 29). Fairies speak in human tongues on this night; the flower of happiness blooms ...