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WASHINGTON - Witches, goblins, and devils will prowl on the night of June 20, according to a belief that held sway for centuries throughout most of the world.
It will be Midsummer’s Eve, a time for lunacy, lovers, magic, and bonfires. June 21 marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Each day following will grow progressively shorter as the sun declines into winter.
To encourage the sun to remain a little longer and prolong its annual battle against the encroaching darkness of autumn, men once lit fires this night on hilltops, in village squares, and at crossroads, the National Geographic Society says.
Blazing Copies of the Sun
As added symbols of support, flaming wooden discs were hurled aloft, arcing across the summer sky in fiery imitation of .the sun. Midsummer superstitions became fused with Christianity and were diluted through the centuries. Today, the holiday remains only in a few countries. In Scandinavia it is a folk festival, with old costumes, a maypole, songs, and dances. Sweden observes the occasion on the Friday before the solstice, this year June 19. In Denmark, where it is known as St. Hans Aften, it traditionally is celebrated on the night of June 23. June 24, honored as the birthday of St. John the Baptist, is designated Midsummer Day. Midsummer bonfires long were known as St. John’s Fires. But their magid qualities stemmed from previous centuries, when the flames saluted pagan gods.
The fires warded off witches, who supposedly are especially active on Midsummer’s Eve, and guaranteed that milk would be pure and butter sweet throughout the year.
Anyone who failed to come to the St. John’s Fire, however, could expect weeds in his oats and thistles in his barley - or worse.
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