Happy Summer! Today is the first day of summer, called the summer solstice. Maybe it's because I am a Leo, but this is my favorite time of year: Plenty of sunshine, camping trips, BBQ cookouts with friends and family, fireworks, swimming, gardening... Below are a few historic fun facts about how the summer solstice has been celebrated in the past:
- The solstice was the month for weddings in pre-historic times and is where the term "honeymoon" originated.
- Romans celebrated the goddess of the hearth, Vesta, during a week long celebration coinciding with the solstice.
- Ancient Chinese people acknowledged the solstice as a celebration of the Earth; a contrast to the winter solstice celebration of the Heavens.
- In the Christian faith, the feast of St. John the Baptist is within a few days of the summer solstice.
- The Essenes, a Jewish group during the 1st century, built sun rooms within temples to honor the sun.
- In ancient Sweden, women and girls would bathe in the river during the solstice in hopes it would bring rain for their summer crops.
Source: Summer Solstice Celebrations: Ancient & Modern
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