Litha

Midsummer is one of the four solar holidays of Pagan Tradition, and is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Witchcraft sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lammas or Lughnasadh. Some traditions of Witchcraft call the festival Litha, a name occurring in Bede's Reckoning of Time (De Temporum Ratione, 7th century), which preserves a list of the (then-obsolete) Anglo-Saxon names for the twelve months. Ærra Liða (first or preceding Liða) roughly corresponds to June in the Gregorian calendar, and Æfterra Liða (following Liða) to July. Bede writes that "Litha means gentle or navigable, because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea."