Midsummer and the magical Fern Flower: Summer Solstice Myths and Legends

HELLO SUMMER 2021.... Halfway through the Wheel of the year... we're not quite down yet, there is a log of year ahead and we can make the best of it. But here I am with another "folklore, myths and legends" post :) This time about Ferns and the beginning of Summer.

Lush and Green and somehow primitive ferns are linked to the Spirit world and many pre-Christian traditions of fertility many of which are related to Midsummer's Eve.

Midsummer / Litha / St John's Eve: Summer Solstice

Do you celebrate the solstice in your country? Here in Spain we have "La noche de San Juan" and people dance by the fire and collect herbs.

Do you remember our article about May Day a while back, people danced around the Maypole and some couples even became engaged, that's the reason this is also a traditional date for Weddings.

So the 21th of June Summer officially started in the Northern Hemisphere with the astronomical solstice, longest day and shortest night of the year.
Midsummer is considered a magical date in which the veil is thin (just like in Samhain or Halloween) and when we are closer to the spirit world. That's why it's linked to many festivities all around the world, especially in Europe. Most of them linked to born fires and celebration of the fertility of Earth.
Midsummer takes different names in different countries from Celtic Litha, to Saint John's Eve (as it's said to be the birthday of this Saint).
Bornfires and jumping over them, taking a bath in the river or sea, weaving floral garlands, those are recurrent in different places in Europe.

Bathing on Solstice Day is a tradition that can be found in many countries.

The spores of the bracken fern were reputed to confer invisibility to whomever gathered them at the only time when they were said to be visible—St. John's Eve, that is Midsummer's.
Many myths and legends surround bracken. It was said to grant perpetual youth and repel evil.

Folklore is even referred to in Shakespeare’s Henry V

The Fern Flower Legend | Leyenda de la flor de Helecho

In Baltic and Slavic countries countries it is believed that Ferns actually bloom and its magic flower. We all know Ferns do not bloom but that doesn't mean there aren't legends about it. The Fern flowers receive different names in Baltic mythology (Latvian: papardes zieds,Lithuanian: paparčio žiedas, Estonian: sõnajalaõis) and Slavic (Belarusian: папараць-кветка, Polish: kwiat paproci, Russian: цветок папоротника, Ukrainian: цвіт папороті).

They are considered of magic nature and thus only bloom on Midsummer. We find similar references in Sweden regarding "Daphne Flowers"

In most of these countries Midsummer is celebrated a little bit later than astronomical Solstice, thus the Eve of 23 to 24 lth is also Latvian Līgo the only day where such flower might bloom. In the Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian tradition, the fern flower is supposed to appear only on the night of 23 to 24 June during the celebration of the summer solstice which is called Jāņi in Latvia, Joninės or Rasos in Lithuania, Jaaniõhtu or Jaaniöö in Estonia and Juhannus in Finland.
Most people stay up, by the born fire, in Latvia girls weave garlands with wild flowers and men crowns with oak leaves, and they sing Līgo songs, a truely wonderful heritage, a collection of ancient songs called Dainas that worship Nature and are considered Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
Here me singing līgo in Latvian (by the way, I'm Spanish, I just like the traditions and lore of different European countries and this is one of the most beautiful). Latvian

So these rare fern flowers only can be found on this magical night. It's said that finding that flower would provide the ability to understand animals and earthly riches but careful because it is linked to the spirit world and so it's usually said that if you find one you should pick it with caution.

The Ferns were also linked to fertility in Christian traditions.
In Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, the holiday is practised on the eve of Ivan Kupala Day, which is also... drumroll... Midsummer.

But ferns do not have flowers... right?

No, they don't. But in the past maybe taxonomy and classification of plants was not that accurate and many flowering plants resemble ferns and some in fact bloom only during the night. Also some true ferns have "fertile fronds", clusters resembling a bloom.
Some speculate the flower is really a species of Rue and not a fern but turn red on midsummer. In Lithuania they make the head wreath out of Rue for the Bride and she also puts a sprig in her flower bouquet

Have a lovely Summer

Enjoy the lush green season...
What are your plans? Are you going on vacation?
I will try to keep on healing and grounding in Nature were I find my inspiration.

For me Summer is a time to bathe in river ponds and play music out in the fields, and though I'm certainly not the fondest of extreme heat, I will embrace this time of light and make the best of it (though likely under the green shade of the forest canopy)

From Midsummer (Litha) to Lammas (First Harvest)

Next important celebration in the Wheel of the year will be Lammas or first Harvest, the midpoint between Midsummer and Mabon (Autumn Equinox)
Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh takes place the first of August and it's linked to the Harvest, making bread and other acts in gratefulnes for what earth provides.

Support me following on my network.

• https://yidneth.com
• https://patreon.com/yidneth
• https://priscillahernandez.com/shop (Buy my CDs, art)
• Priscilla Hernandez MUSIC on SPOTIFY
• https://blog.priscillahernandez.com
• http://youtube.com/yidneth
• http://instagram.com/yidneth
• http://facebook.com/yidneth
• http://twitter.com/yidneth
• http://soundcloud.com/yidneth

All pictures in this post are my own