by Sarah Huth

Created on: June 13, 2008

The sun is nearing its highest point in the sky, and the summer solstice is almost upon us. Known as Litha among Wiccans, the solstice goes by several other names, including "Midsummer", "The First Day of Summer", and "St. John's Day". While it used to fall on June 24th, it will occur on June 20th of this year, and is a time for much feasting and celebration the world over. The solstice itself has been celebrated in nearly every culture, from the Native Americans to the Ancient Greeks. Even Stonehenge relates to the summer solstice; it was used by the Druids to celebrate it. So what exactly is the summer solstice? As the earth rotates, the North Pole points in a fixed direction, but since the earth rotates around the sun as well, the northern hemisphere of the earth gets more sunlight than the southern hemisphere for half of the year (with the opposite being true for the other half). In the northern hemisphere, the most sunlight occurs during the summer time. Therefore, the summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches it's highest point in the sky, and gives the northern hemisphere the greatest amount of daylight hours. Subsequently, the winter solstice falls on the day when the hours of darkness reach their maximum, and the sun is at its lowest point.

This is significant for many reasons. As far as agriculture and farming goes, in ancient times this allowed for more hours to be spent in the fields. Young animals were growing, and crops were ripening; it is the time during the year when vegetation is at it's peak after its birth during the spring. However, the solstice also helped to serve as a reminder that winter and darkness would soon be approaching again, and that the sunny days should be enjoyed while they where still there. In pagan myth and lore, the summer solstice (or Litha) celebrates the crowning of the Sun God by the Goddess, who rules over the earth for that day. He is said to be at his most powerful on Litha, though his strength begins to decrease in the days following, as winter and cold weather begins to set in once more. Some versions of the story actually tell of a battle between the Sun God (or the "Oak King") and the "Holly King", who rules during the winter. The "Oak King" wins at first, but by the end of Midsummer the "Holly King" has defeated him, bringing the cold weather he loves and shortening the days.

For modern Wiccans and neo-pagans, there are many different traditions that go along with Litha. While many of these involve simple

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