The Summer Solstice: Celebrating the Journey of the Sun from May Day to Harvest

by John Matthews

Wherever we are, we are under the sun. As it rises, we greet the new day; as it melts away at dusk, we return to hearth and home for rest. Its life-giving warmth undoubtedly inspired humanity's oldest rituals, especially at the winter and summer solstices in December and June, when the sun's strength begins to wax or wane as the seasons change again. Reclaiming these ancient traditions for contemporary use, this stunning new book completes the cycle John Matthews began in his 1998 award-winning The Winter Solstice. His subject is the mythic history of the sun as a source of fertility and fortune worldwide--from ancient sun gods and ceremonial dances, to the European customs of the Maypole and the love magic of Midsummer Night, to rituals for harvesting rice in the Far East. Today we can still come together at May Day, Midsummer, and Harvest-time, just as our ancestors did. Resplendent with full-color illustrations, this multicultural sourcebook helps us connect with the past and celebrate the present with stories and songs, crafts and games, and recipes for feasting to enjoy with family and friends.

Genres: Mythology, History, Paganism, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2002

About the author

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.