Chant for the Summer Solstice

I wrote this chant a few years ago to give equal honor to darkness and light at the summer solstice. I always yearn for the waxing of light, and mourn it’s waning, so this song is meant to name gratitude for both.

In northwestern European communities, midsummer could be celebrated with the lighting of bonfires on hilltops, and people walking the fields with torches to drive away disease from the crops. Crops, cattle and other herd animals were blessed by the fires of midsummer. Traditions, of course, varied widely, and some communities found this period of time to be very significant, while others less so. For example, from what we can tell, the Celts and Gaels didn’t treat the summer solstice with a great deal of significance, putting more emphasis on Beltane. But Scandinavian peoples had stronger midsummer traditions, perhaps because that far north, midsummer is closer to the true beginning of the summer months, thus a time for big celebrations!

Lyrics:
Praise the sun and praise the light
Praise the darkness, praise the night
Praise the gods who bring summer in
Praise the gods who take it back again