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So let’s talk about Litha for a minute or two, shall we?
According to folklore ....
do you know what that means? Folklore?
Well, the easiest way to tell you what it means
is that it is the “Lore” or “stories and customs” of a certain people.
Usually these are stories or customs which are not really written down,
but have been handed down from one generation to the next.
Just because something isn’t written down
doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense,
or that it’s not a good idea.
Sometimes, there is a lot of widom in folklore
and sometimes it can be a little strange.
An example of a strange story involving folklore
would be the story of the man who noticed that his wife
always cut off the ends of a ham before she baked it.
One day he asked her why she did that,
and she said it was because HER mother always did it that way.
So the man asked his wife’s mother
why SHE cut the ends of the ham off before she baked it.
She said it was because HER mother had always done it that way.
In the end, the reason why all these women
were cutting off the ends of the ham was because
the great-great grandmother’s ow oven
was too small to fit the whole ham in it. (Laughter)
Sometimes, that’s exactly the way that customs start,
because of a very good reason.
And then the children do the same things
as their parents did, and then THEIR children do the same things,
even when it’s not necessary any more.
So let’s back up to Litha again.
Once upon a time ago,
most people only really recognized two seasons:
Summer and Winter.
Summer would begin around Beltane,
which is the beginning of May,
and would last until the first part of August,
which is Lughnasadh.
And THAT is why you often hear Litha called “Midsummer,”
because it is in the middle of “Summer”
that whole half of the year, is summer.
If you are only counting two seasons.
Of course, most of us celebrate four seasons now:
Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
But customs and traditions are often carried forward
no matter how things change,
- like those hams –
so you will still hear people call Litha by the name of Midsummer.
EVEN though we now recognize Litha as the
FIRST day of summer on our modern calendar.
It CAN be confusing,
but at least now you may understand
why some people say that Litha is the FIRST day of Summer
and some people say that it is MIDsummer.
No matter what else you may call Litha,
we ALL celebrate the Summer Solstice on this day,
which is the longest day of the year.
What’s funny though, is that
– starting the very next day –
the days begin to get shorter and shorter,
because the Earth is moving in its orbit
further and further away from the sun,
until the day and night are equal at the Autumn Equinox,
which is Mabon.
People celebrate this holiday, Litha, in many different ways.
Some Pagans recharge their ritual tools
at this very powerful time of the year.
Others make sure to celebrate the men in their lives
and the male deities they serve.
Some will bless their gardens.
However YOU choose to celebrate this turning
of the Wheel of the Year is up to you.
Of course, it’s also a good time to take out your
Rupert’s Tales book and read about RUPERT’S adventures here too!
It’s summertime and most of you are out of school for a while.
For me, summer means growing a lot of fruits and vegetables in my gardens.
I’d say we’re both pretty thankful
for the summertime and for the chance to enjoy the sun!
So how about if we sing a song together to celebrate Litha?
Come on!