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Made for a friend on request with a focus on specific cultures as well as a deadline, which is why it gets a bit breathless toward the end. Mostly cribbed from the internet…

The first official day of summer in the northern hemisphere (summer in the southern hemisphere officially starts on the first day of the month, not the solstice). The sun is at its peak in the noontime sky and sets at the northernmost point on the horizon. Solstitium = “sun-standstill”. Kicks off a three-month period with enough heat and light to fuel the earth for the growing season. (The Native American Lakota people referred to the summer solstice as “the moon of making fat” for this very reason.)

Zoroastrianism and Iran

Quoth ChatGPT, hallucinating astride the fuming internetzual abyss:

“The Zoroastrian calendar, known as the Zoroastrian or Parsi calendar, does not place special emphasis on the summer solstice (…)

However, it's worth noting that the summer solstice, being an astronomical event marking the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, may hold cultural or regional significance for Zoroastrians in certain local traditions or observances. These regional customs or practices might vary based on the cultural context and the specific communities that follow Zoroastrianism.”

“In Zoroastrianism, there is no specific concept of "midsummer" as a religious or cultural observance.”

This I learned via Wikipedia, rather contradicting the above:

There are six irregularly-spaced seasonal festivals (“proper seasons”). They are additionally associated with the six “primordial creations” of Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas, and the corresponding aspects of creation (the sky, the waters, the earth, plant life, animal life, humankind).

The midsummer festival, Maidyoshahem Gahanbar (“midsummer proper season”) was originally celebrated on the summer solstice but — due to the peculiarities of the Shahenshahi and Kadmi variants of the Zoroastrian calendar — the seasonal festivals are no longer synchronized with the seasons and are now celebrated many months (!) in advance.

Tirgan:

Tirgan (Persian: تیرگان, Tirgān), is a mid summer ancient Iranian festival, celebrated annually on Tir 13 (July 2, 3, or 4). It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach soup and sholezard. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children.

Assorted syncretic, neopagan, or traditional beliefs

Activities:

· Celebrating the sun; celebrating nature, life, fertility, all that good stuff

· Staying awake throughout the short night

· Bonfires (also to ward off evil spirits)

· Dancing

· Jumping over the embers/burning coals to make a wish (or you could use a candle like on a birthday cake)

· Communing with spirits

· Making hay (literally)

· Gathering and drying/storing medicinal herbs — they are at their most powerful now

· Gathering and storing food for the cold seasons

Fitting flowers and herbs:

The flowers and herbs associated with the summer solstice represent growth, abundance, and the beauty of the natural world. They serve as a reminder to connect with nature and to appreciate all that it has to offer.

· Sunflowers: symbol of the sun; vitality, warmth, positivity

· Roses: love, joy, and happiness

· Lavender: often used in summer solstice rituals; calming properties; tranquility, peace, and spiritual renewal

· Chamomile: also commonly used; soothing properties; relaxation, healing, and purification

“St. John’s wort, chamomile, calendula, lavender, fennel, hemp, mugwort, rosemary, thyme, meadowsweet, verbena, sage, mint, elder and roses all are linked to this time of year, often used by Druids in their ceremonial Midsummer bonfires. In particular, medicine people took advantage of this day to capture the maximum potential of lavender and vervain for banishing worries and St. John’s Wort for bringing sunshine to sorrow. (…) Our herbalists use this time to harvest herbs for oils, tinctures and teas, using the “above ground” parts of the plants that capture the sunshine at its peak. The type of plant and medicine they create depends on what time of the solstice day they harvest.”

Norse/Germanic neopaganism:

· The return of light and cycle of life needed to be ensured through ritual

· Bonfires

· Procession around the fields with torches

· Rolling a burning wheel (~sun) down a hill

· Consecration/hallowing, banishing evil influences

· Reaffirm the strength and power of the gods and the people

· Seeking the blessing of the wights of the land

· Sacred fire; cleansing and creation

Balder: the most handsome of the Aesir; his hair was thought to be the sun (says this one website); symbol of light and truth; skilled with healing and with runes. Balder’s wife, Nanna: a goddess of vegetation.

The Midsummer blót (“blood sacrifice”): devoted principally to Freyr (associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest), Freyja (associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future)), but also to Sól (sun goddess pursued by the wolf Sköll (“treachery” or “mockery”) and light elves.

The sun: in the poem Alvíssmál, the god Thor questions the dwarf Alvíss about the Sun, asking him what the Sun is called in each of the worlds. Alvíss responds that it is called "sun" by mankind, "sunshine" by the gods, "Dvalinn's deluder" by the dwarves, "everglow" by the jötnar, "the lovely wheel" by the elves, and "all-shining" by the "sons of the Æsir".

Wicca:

· Litha sabbat (19-23 June)

· “Litha means gentle or navigable, because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea”

· Light as a symbol of divine inspiration