"Tonight is Midsummer Night's Eve, also called St. John's Eve. St. John is the patron saint of beekeepers. It's a time when the hives are full of honey. The full moon that occurs this month was called the Mead Moon, because honey was fermented to make mead. That's where the word "honeymoon" comes from, because it's also a time for lovers. An old Swedish proverb says, "Midsummer Night is not long but it sets many cradles rocking." Midsummer dew was said to have special healing powers. In Mexico, people decorate wells and fountains with flowers, candles, and paper garlands. They go out at midnight and bathe in the lakes and streams. Midsummer Eve is also known as Herb Evening. Legend says that this is the best night for gathering magical herbs. Supposedly, a special plant flowers only on this night, and the person who picks it can understand the language of the trees. Flowers were placed under a pillow with the hope of important dreams about future lovers"
I woke up early this morning, summer is a difficult time for sleep for me. it feels always that too much is buzzing in nature captivating my interest with the various sounds, textures,sights, seeductions of summer. It is though I want to soak it all up, not miss a moment of it, savor it, hoard it so I can have it on a backup during the cold bleaker days of winter.Of all the seasons, summer's rich vividness is my favorite.Last night as I looked upon the quiet stillness of our nearby lake ,slowly simmering in its own mist, I understood the magic of the Midsummer's night, perhaps the kind of feeling Shakespeare had when he imagined the sweet capers of Tattania, Oberon and Puck as they indulged in the merriment of summer.
Dear readers of my blog, abandon despair briefly if you can, surrender to the merriment and fancy, the delights that are ever so brief evanescent yet so full on this most lovely midsummer's eve....
lovely and poetic Emma!!
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