All Faiths Calendar

Selected observances for the Summer Season

-- Publishers Weekly, 6/17/2002

June 21
Litha/Midsummer (Neo-Paganism)
Many people are familiar with the festival of Midsummer only from what they learned in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is actually fairly accurate. Midsummer is an ancient pagan festival during which contact between humans and fairies is considered possible, spells can enchant lovers and mischief is the order of the day. One of three nights on which magic powers are believed to multiply (the others are Halloween and May Eve), Midsummer is marked by attentiveness to the summer sun, which is at the height of its strength. (Midsummer, or the summer solstice, occurs on the longest day of the year.) Celebrations involve the use of light--bonfires, torchlight processions and circle dances are common.

Recommended Reading:
Anna Franklin explores the customs, recipes and magical tools associated with the festival in Midsummer: Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice (Mar.), the most recent installment in Llewellyn's series on pagan holidays and festivals. Franklin's book is distinguished by its attention to Native American, Mesopotamian and Russian celebrations as well as the usual Celtic suspects. There's also the beautifully illustrated coffee-table book The Summer Solstice: Celebrating the Journey of the Sun from May Day to Harvest (Quest, June), which offers lore and customs for all of the sun festivals. Finally, of course, there's always the Bard.

June 23
Pentecost (Orthodox Christianity)
In the Christian Tradition, Pentecost is a festival celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first-century church, as recorded in the second chapter of the New Testament book of Acts. In the story, the Spirit descended to a group of people as "tongues of fire." To their astonishment, they were suddenly able to speak in languages they did not know--and to understand one another. In the Christian church, the feast of Pentecost occurs approximately 50 (hence the prefix "Pent") days after Passover, marking the close of Eastertide. (A word about dates: in the West, Pentecost was celebrated this year on May 19, and Easter was observed on March 31. Eastern Orthodox Christians, who use the Julian calendar, observed Easter this year on May 5.) In the East, Pentecost is considered one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year. Pentecost is so closely associated with the joyous spirit of Easter that in the West, the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.) actually prohibited kneeling and fasting during Pentecost because those activities were considered too sorrowful. In English Christianity, Pentecost was called Whitsun, or Whitsunday, because new converts, who were often baptized on Pentecost, wore white robes. But red, rather than white, is the color that is most often used on Pentecost, because it symbolizes the tongues of fire.

In the 20th century, one of the most significant areas of Christian growth occurred in so-called Pentecostal churches, which stress the gift of the Holy Spirit and the possibility of supernatural healings, manifestations and miracles. This popular movement takes its name from the holiday.

Recommended Reading:
For basic information about Pentecost, see Susan Richardson's Holidays & Holy Days: Origins, Customs and Insights on Celebrations Through the Year (Servant, 2001. Grant Wacker's Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (Harvard, 2001) is an excellent study of American Pentecostals in the first half of the 20th century. Also, Philip Jenkins's The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Oxford, Apr.) points to the success of Pentecostalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America and offers predictions.

July 18 (Av 9, 5762)
Tisha B'Av (Judaism)
Known as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar year, Tisha B'Av commemorates the fall of the first temple (586 B.C.E.) and the second temple (C.E. 70), as well as many other tragic events in Jewish history (the decree ordering the expulsion of the Jews from Spain was issued on this date in 1492). A three-week cycle of mourning begins on June 27 (Fast of the 17th of Tammuz)--the date marking the first breach of the walls of Jerusalem; the mourning period culminates with a full fast day on the ninth of Av and the reading of the Book of Lamentations). During the three weeks, weddings, celebrations and festive gatherings are not permitted and during the last nine days of that period, observant Jews abstain from eating meat and drinking wine as well as wearing new clothes.

Recommended Reading:
Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin's recently reissued To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life (Basic Books) is a classic guide to Jewish life, philosophy and law. Another backlist classic with practical information for Jews and non- Jews is Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know about the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History (Morrow).

July 30
Oh-Harai-Taisai (Shinto)
There are many local and regional festivals in Shinto, the ancient religion of Japan. In this taisai ("large festival"), the theme is purification from sins. Large rings of grasses and reeds are placed around the outer perimeter of Shinto shrines. Penitents must walk through the ring to enter the shrine, thus demonstrating their spiritual cleansing. Rites of purification are central to Shinto, which requires worshipers (at all times of the year) to cleanse the hands and mouth before entering any temple or shrine.

Recommended Reading:
C. Scott Littleton's primer Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places (Oxford, May) offers a superb, lavishly illustrated introduction to Shinto history, beliefs and practices, including holy days.