Under the category of “if you can’t beat them, join them,” the feast of Saint John was a Christian substitute for the celebrations that were centered on this time of year. The counterparts to Saint John’s Day and summer solstice are Christmas and the winter solstice. In essence, Jesus and Saint John took the place of the oak and holly kings. Midsummer’s Day is part of the celebrations that occur around the times of the summer solstice. Falling midway between planting and harvest, it marks the middle of the growing season. One form of love divination was to pluck a flower of Saint John’s wort on Midsummer’s Eve. If it was still fresh and not wilted in the morning, one’s marriage prospects were good.
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