Litha / Midsummers - How to do you honor/celebrate the day?

[CoraFrost]

Litha/Midsummer is coming up at the end of this week.  Last year was my first year acknowledging and working within the WOTY, so once again, this is a new one for me.  

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

TIA!

[Altair]

Litha/Midsummer is coming up at the end of this week.  Last year was my first year acknowledging and working within the WOTY, so once again, this is a new one for me.  

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

TIA!

I take the day off, get up before dawn and go out to watch the sunrise, and then I'm not allowed to set foot indoors (except for the briefest possible bathroom breaks) until after I watch the sunset. So this longest day of the year is spent entirely outside.

It's my day to smell the roses, to savor the world at its fullest, thriving best. I do a lot of walking, indulge in nature's bounty (cherries! and ice cream!), while away hours in outdoor cafes sipping cocktails and watching the world go by, take a nap in the park, write in my journal, read a book.

My favorite day of the year!

[yewberry]

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

 
I don't usually do anything on the summer solstice except acknowledge it.  It's on a Thursday this year, and the weather's always dicey here until July, so I tend to save my "high summer" celebrating for my annual summer party.  This year it'll be the second Saturday in July.  Tons of food, my homebrewed beer (just made the batch yesterday), outdoor games, and for the first time this year, live bluegrass music!

Brina

[Sarah]

I take the day off, get up before dawn and go out to watch the sunrise, and then I'm not allowed to set foot indoors (except for the briefest possible bathroom breaks) until after I watch the sunset. So this longest day of the year is spent entirely outside.

It's my day to smell the roses, to savor the world at its fullest, thriving best. I do a lot of walking, indulge in nature's bounty (cherries! and ice cream!), while away hours in outdoor cafes sipping cocktails and watching the world go by, take a nap in the park, write in my journal, read a book.

My favorite day of the year!

 
this is a lovely idea. mind if I steal it?

What do you do if it rains?

[Leanan Sidhe]

Litha/Midsummer is coming up at the end of this week.  Last year was my first year acknowledging and working within the WOTY, so once again, this is a new one for me.  

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

TIA!

Litha is one of those ones that's usually up in the air for me. There are holidays that I usually do about the same things on (like Imbolc and Samhain) and then there are others (Litha and Mabon) that I'm much less hard and fast about what I do. Usually it's something solar in nature, but that's about the only part that stays consistent.

Also, I shouldn't, but sometimes I miss the Holy Days entirely -- and I'm far more likely to do that with the ones that I have less of a set pattern for celebrating.

This year, I'm really going to have to knock it off and come up with something fast. I joined AODA and part of the criteria for your Candidate year in it is celebrating the solstices and equinoxes. Since I celebrate all the Sabbats normally, I don't want to stop now.

This year, I'll probably do a modified version of the ritual laid out in The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer. I already did some tweaking of the rituals laid out in it to better represent my Gods and my local ecosystem.

[Altair]

this is a lovely idea. mind if I steal it?

What do you do if it rains?

Oh, please free to steal it!

I always keep my eye on the forecast as the summer solstice approaches, and if the weather looks uncooperative, I'll shift the observance up to 2 days before or after. The weather in NYC looks cooperative this year, however.

It helps to plan ahead in other ways too: Knowing where public restrooms are available, packing some food and/or water (sometimes I freeze it beforehand, so that as it melts I have ice cold water all day long) the night before--though in NYC we're lucky enough to have tons of cafes with outdoor seating--etc.

[CoraFrost]

I take the day off, get up before dawn and go out to watch the sunrise, and then I'm not allowed to set foot indoors (except for the briefest possible bathroom breaks) until after I watch the sunset. So this longest day of the year is spent entirely outside.

It's my day to smell the roses, to savor the world at its fullest, thriving best. I do a lot of walking, indulge in nature's bounty (cherries! and ice cream!), while away hours in outdoor cafes sipping cocktails and watching the world go by, take a nap in the park, write in my journal, read a book.

My favorite day of the year!

 
I love this idea!!!  I have to see client's in the AM, but as soon as I can, I will head outdoors -- perhaps for sunrise and sunset

[yewberry]

I love this idea!!!  I have to see client's in the AM, but as soon as I can, I will head outdoors -- perhaps for sunrise and sunset

Forecast for my neck o' on Thursday.  Definitely waiting for July...

Brina

[Finn]

Forecast for my neck o' on Thursday.  Definitely waiting for July...

Brina

 
It always rains on Solstice here. It's like a cardinal rule or something.

Though the day of the Fremont Solstice Parade looks fantastic and may actually break the rule of "it always rains at Solstice Fair/Parade." :

[yewberry]

It always rains on Solstice here. It's like a cardinal rule or something.

Though the day of the Fremont Solstice Parade looks fantastic and may actually break the rule of "it always rains at Solstice Fair/Parade." :

Last time I was there a few years ago, it was gorgeous (which means there was a lot of skin).  

I actually don't mind the rain.  Just wish it were going to be a few degrees warmer.
 
Brina

[Cabal]

Litha/Midsummer is coming up at the end of this week.  Last year was my first year acknowledging and working within the WOTY, so once again, this is a new one for me.  

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

TIA!

Probably have a small ritual before I head off to work!

[MadZealot]

Tons of food, my homebrewed beer (just made the batch yesterday), outdoor games, and for the first time this year, live bluegrass music!

Aawwwwwwesome!

[MadZealot]

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

1) Steal Altair's idea.  
2) Plant pumpkins in the stone circle.  

I'll probably do a little something at high noon and another little something at sunset.  No idea what that'll look like yet.

[fearanya]

Litha/Midsummer is coming up at the end of this week.  Last year was my first year acknowledging and working within the WOTY, so once again, this is a new one for me.  

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

TIA!

 
I usually see the dawn, go walking somewhere, get out into some trees.

This year however it'll be my first solstice dawn at Stonehenge! It's one of the only times they allow open access up to the stones themselves and I'll also be walking a bit of the downs, following ancient routes between the barrows, nearby Durrington Walls, the Avenue and woodhenge.

Very excited! It'll be a long couple of days and a real treat.

Not sure what I'll do exactly while up at the henge itself - probably a mixture of being and experiencing. I'm expecting more a bustling festival atmosphere than a spiritual one at the henge - which obviously also includes lots of groups and individuals observing the solstice in their own ways, such as the Druid ceremony - so I'm also going to pop to Avebury stone circle at some point over the few days I'm in the area for some dedicated time.

[Jack]

What special (big or little) rituals or ceremonies do you do to acknowledge the day?

Nothing much on the day of, since I have to work, but we're spending the weekend at a fiber festival that's mostly outside.

We're doing it for the yarn, mind you, not the holiday, but the fact that they line up is a nice bonus.