Midsummer Traditions

Midsummer has always been a time for celebration and dancing.
Traditionally, there were bonfires to celebrate the Sun. The
bonfires were believed to have the power to burn away all negativity
and evil. People jumped the flames, much as they had at Beltane,
making wishes. It was believed that the summer grains would grow
only as high as they were able to jump. The Celts built their
bonfires near holy wells or on a border or boundary of some sort
because they considered borders to be magickal entrances to the
Underworld. In some places, people light fires on midsummer eve.
They stay up until midnight to welcome in midsummer day, and, when
the fires die down, men run or jump through the embers to bring good
luck.

Ancient Pagans had a custom for Midsummer which consisted of
wrapping straw around the wheel of a cart, lighting it on fire, and
then rolling it down a tall hill. These flaming wheels were
called "Catherine Wheels" and they emulated the action of the sun,
which would begin waning after Midsummer day. If the fire went out
before the wheel got to the bottom of the hill, it indicated a good
harvest.

Since Midsummer is both a time of protection and of divination, in
ancient times, the rootstock of a male fern plant was trimmed into
the likeness of a hand and smoked in the Midsummer fires.
These 'Hands of Glory' were hung in houses for protection. It was
said that if the hands glowed with a blue flame, they were revealing
hidden treasure in the earth.

There is still a famous summer solstice celebration at Stonehenge,
the ancient stone circle on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. On the
night before midsummer, a group of white-robed Druids gather at
Stonehenge to watch the sun rising. As it comes up, the sun rises
exactly over the Heel Stone, one of the stones that lies outside the
main circle at Stonehenge.

Many midsummer celebrations were moved to the feast of St John the
Baptist (24th June). But since Midsummer was a time of magic and
wonder-working, evil spirits were said to appear, and people
gathered herbs and flowers to protect themselves. One of the most
powerful was the plant known as 'chase-devil', which we now call St
John's Wort. People used it in potions, and wove the flowers into
garlands to decorate their houses or protect their farm animals.
They believed that the herb could shield them from the power of evil
spirits and could help them foretell the future.

This was taken from a Yahoo! Group called "Magic Light."