Saint John's Fire HWLI 05 005

2025-06-22T00:00:00Z

Saint John's Fire "Although modern Witches often refer to the holiday by the rather generic name of 'Midsummer’s Eve', it is more probable that our Pagan ancestors of a few hundred years ago actually used the Christian name for the holiday, 'St. John’s Eve'. This is evident from the wealth of folklore that surrounds the summer solstice (i.e., that it is a night especially sacred to the faerie folk), but which is inevitably ascribed to 'St. John’s Eve', with no mention of the sun’s position. It could also be argued that a coven’s claim to antiquity might be judged by what name it gives the holidays. (Incidentally, the name ‘Litha’ for the holiday is a modern usage, possibly based on a Saxon word that means the opposite of Yule. Still, there is little historical justification for its use in this context.)" Nichols, Mike. "A Midsummer's Celebration." circa 2005. The Witches' Sabbats. Self-published, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091117111401/http://www.witchessabbats.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=26