Summer solstice customs involve sex, fire and ... herring? - New York Daily News

HASSE HOLMBERG/AP People in Gräskö, Sweden, dance around a Maypole during a Midsummer gathering in 2011. In some cultures, the odds of getting lucky at a summer solstice celebration are stacked in your favor. The Northern Hemisphere's longest day of the year marks a time when the earth is fertile and traditions often honor the fertility of humankind as well. As CNN put it, the summer solstice is "all about sex." In Sweden, Midsummer festivities include dancing around a Maypole -- which some consider a phallic symbol -- singing about frogs, wearing floral crowns, eating various kinds of pickled herring and drinking vodka. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images Spiritualists, neo-druids, pagans and travelers party until dawn to welcome the summer solstice at Stonehenge. Jan-Öjvind Swahn, a Swedish ethnologist, told CNN that Midsummer triggers something of a baby boom and many Swedish children are born nine months after the celebration. PHOTOS: YOGIS CELEBRATE SUMMER SOLSTICE 2013 IN TIMES SQUARE Young women can try to identify their future partners by following another Swedish tradition. A woman is supposed to gather seven different kinds of flowers from seven different gardens and place them under her pillow so that she dreams about her future spouse. DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS Revelers kiss as they celebrate the summer solstice at the Stonehenge, where thousands gathered to to mark the longest day of the year. Throughout Europe, Midsummer became St. John's Day in honor of Saint John the Baptist, but some pagan customs are still carried out. In parts of Greece, unmarried women participate in a ritual called Klidonas. They place a personal belonging in a pot and leave that under a fig tree overnight. The magic of the day is supposed to give the object prophetic powers, and the village women all gather the next day to remove the objects and recite sometimes raunchy rhymes that are meant to predict the romantic future of the owner. Later in the day, the sexes mingle, jump over bonfires and socialize with the other young people in the village. Fires are a common theme across solstice celebrations. In Estonia, people also mark St. John's Day (Jaanipäev) and Midsummer Eve by lighting and jumping over bonfires. Folklore encourages lovers to search for a fern with a flower that is said to only bloom on that night, and everyone sings and dances. LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS Yogis in New York participate in the "Solstice in Times Square" event. RELATED: RODNEY YEE HOSTS FREE YOGA EVENT IN NYC Kupala Night, the eve of Ivan Kupala Day, is a romantic holiday celebrated in Eastern Europe that falls on the solstice. Some couples test the strength of their love by jumping over a bonfire while holding hands. Another tradition involves single ladies floating wreaths made of flowers down the river, which bachelors would then try to catch. Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Cloudy skies prevented the group partying at Stonehenge from seeing the sun rise, but that didn't stop them from dancing and celebrating. "It was once believed that Kupala Night was a time for people to fall in love, and that those celebrating it would be happy and prosperous throughout the year," Agnieszka Bigaj from the Polish tourist board told CNN. One of the biggest and most well-known solstice celebrations is held at Stonehenge. Pagans and non-pagans travel to the mysterious site to party all night and watch the sun rise. A crowd of more than 20,000 people gathered there. Meanwhile, in New York, thousands of yogis took to Time Square to do sun salutations as part of the "Mind of Madness" event. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGpf_k9d2OQJMaa_lHrJMEBZSpw1w&url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/summer-solstice-customs-involve-sex-fire-herring-article-1.1379504?localLinksEnabled=false

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