Hail the official start of summer

Solstice over Stonehenge

Today is the day of the June or Summer Solstice, the official start of the summer season. This is a day that held significant religious significance in most of Europe, and especially in Ireland, Scandinavia and the British Isles, the places where the majority of Charlestown residents trace their lineage.

The Druids and pre-Druid people many centuries before them, celebrated the solstice at Stonehenge and other prehistoric sites in Europe. The especially fine alignment of Stonehenge's standing stones marks the summer solstice more clearly than any other calendar event.

Midsummer bonfire in Finland

Many European cultures called the day of the solstice Midsummer or Midsummer's Eve and celebrated it with bonfires to ward off evil spirits. The early Christian church tried to discourage, if not ban, midsummer celebrations, but eventually coopted the day as the feast of St. John the Baptist.

But for us here in Charlestown, if you want to celebrate Midsummer right, you'll have to hop onto Amtrak and make the trip to New York, where the Swedish community puts on an annual celebration the traditional way, with a bonfire, midsummer pole and a Swedish smörgåsbord of herring, new potatoes, and other dishes.

I'll celebrate the solstice through another tradition - by tending my garden.