ExclusiveMidsummer, St. John’s Day, and a Shakespeare play inspire summer celebration

Welcome to Epoch Insights with Tiffany. My name is Tiffany Brannon. We've just passed the summer solstice, which marks the beginning of summer. It's the longest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's a great day of celebration and long has been in many different cultures. There's an article in the Home section of the Epoch Times called A Midsummer Night's Feast. It talks about the traditions associated with the holiday Midsummer, especially those in Northern Europe, in the Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. The name Midsummer literally means the middle of summer. This seems ironic because we know it as the beginning of summer on June 23rd and 24th, which is right around the summer solstice. However, in these cultures, May 1st was held to be the beginning of the summer season. So thus, Midsummer, or the summer solstice, was the middle of summer. These traditions involve a lot of festivities like bonfires, feasts with family and friends, flowers, and other ways to celebrate the great days of warmth and sunshine. It seemed like summer would never come here in California this year. It was cold and rainy basically all throughout spring. So it's wonderful now that it's hot and sunny and really feels like summer. It gives us just a little bit of a taste for why Midsummer is so important to Northern countries in Europe. They have not just rainy days in spring, but during the middle of winter, there hardly is any sunlight because they're so close to the Arctic Circle. In contrast, in the summer they have the midnight sun. Hours of sunlight all through the day and night. And it's a great time to celebrate. The plentiful warmth and summer fruits in contrast to all the snow and cold of winter. This article talks about some of the traditions, and especially the traditional food, which these cultures enjoy. The holiday is called Midsommar in Sweden, and they enjoy a smorgasbord, which is a buffet style. They have pickled herring and many other preparations of that fish, as well as seafood, new potatoes, strawberries, other summer fruits with cream, strawberries, another summer fruit, new potatoes, and cucumbers, are food staples in all the Northern countries for their Midsommar celebrations. In Finland, they celebrate Juhannus, and they have a countryside picnic among the wildflowers where they celebrate around a bonfire. They enjoy plentiful dishes of Nordic flavors with meat, which is cooked in a smoker, as well as salmon and cucumbers, boiled potatoes, and pickles for side dishes. They too enjoy pastries that are cardamom-flavored. They too enjoy desserts such as those with red berries, which are cardamom-flavored pastries. Afterwards, they enjoy a refreshing sauna session, followed by a dip in a nearby lake. In Denmark and Norway, they celebrate Sankt Hans often, and with that they have grilled meats, particularly pork and lamb, fresh seafood, celebrating their coastal heritage, shrimp, and in Denmark they have rye bread, cold cuts, shrimp, smoked salmon, and caviar, as well as boiled eggs and fresh or pickled vegetables. Strawberries, raspberries, currants, and other summer fruits, as well as creams, cakes, and tarts, are an important part of all these celebrations. This article includes actual recipes of some Nordic dishes, so you can celebrate Midsommar yourself. For instance, Swedish shrimp salad, skagenrødde, Danish red fruit pudding with cream, rødgrød med fløde, and Finnish shaken cucumbers with dill, holski kurkut. These delicious dishes are a great way to celebrate Midsommar yourself. I was curious to learn a little bit more about the history of this holiday, so I did some research. It's celebrated on June 23rd and 24th, because in ancient Rome, these dates were always the summer solstice. This holiday has been celebrated since antiquity, but since the Christianization of Europe, the holiday has been associated with the religious feast, St. John's Day. This is a feast day to John the Baptist, celebrating his birth. The reason that there are bonfires is because John the Baptist is considered the bright light, who was the herald for Jesus Christ's coming. There is no reference in the Bible or antiquity to particularly say that John the Baptist may have been born on those dates or even in June. However, we do know that he was born six months before Jesus, who was his cousin. There is a religious significance to the fact that his birth is celebrated on the summer solstice. The summer solstice takes place six months before the winter solstice, which was placed on December 25th in ancient Roman culture. Jesus' birth was celebrated on the winter solstice. Although we know now that there is a good chance that Jesus was not born on the winter solstice or even in December, there is a significance to the fact that his birth was celebrated at that time. John the Baptist, in John 3.13, said, I must decrease, but he must increase. Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year, after that, the days begin to grow shorter. They decrease. After the winter solstice, days get longer and the sunlight increases. So the holidays show that after John the Baptist, the days decrease. And after Jesus, the days increase. Having these bonfires was symbolic of that, and people believed they also would ward away the dragons, evil spirits, and witches which were about on that day. June 23rd is St. John's Eve, whereas June 24th is St. John's Day. The title of this article is obviously a take on Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is one of Shakespeare's most famous works, and it's a hallmark of the summer season. But what does it actually have to do with the holiday of Midsummer? This play is set in ancient Athens, long before Christianity, so it could have nothing to do with St. John's Day or any of the Christian European traditions associated with this holiday. However, the summer solstice was celebrated in many pagan cultures. At the time, in the ancient Greek culture, Adonia was the holiday celebrated on the summer solstice. It was a woman's holiday, marked for the mourning of Adonis, who was the human lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, love, and marriage. In the ancient Greek legends, Aphrodite took Adonis, when he was a child, to Persephone, the goddess of the underworld, for her to raise him there. When he was a grown man, Aphrodite came to fetch him, but Persephone didn't want to give him up because he was a beautiful young man. Thus, an arrangement was struck. He would spend one third of the year with Aphrodite, one third of the year with Persephone, and the last third wherever he chose. He always desired to spend that last third with Aphrodite. Eventually, he was killed by a wild boar, and that was the reason for the celebration of this holiday, to mourn his death. I think that there is some significance between this holiday, which was celebrated in ancient Greece, particularly Athens, and some of the characters in Shakespeare's play, which is set in ancient Athens. This play is about a group of mortals and a group of immortals, the fairies. The leader of the immortals, at least the female leader, is Queen Titania, the queen of the fairies. In the play, she has a little changeling, which was, in mythology, a spirit which was given by the fairies to replace a human child they had stolen. This little changeling is from India, and he's very beautiful. She loves him very much, and is raising him as her son. However, her husband, King Oberon of the fairies, wants her to give up the boy, because he wants him for himself, as his squire. You could say that there's a similarity between Titania, with her little Indian changeling, and Persephone, with her changeling, if you will, of Adonis. Both were mortals of some kind, human boys, who had a magical, fairy-like goddess, who cared for them, raised them, and didn't want to give them up. I think it's no coincidence. I believe that Shakespeare was inspired by these legends in writing this play. There's some confusion as to exactly when this play takes place. For instance, there are conflicting lines referring to the moon. At one point, they're talking about doing things in the moonlight, as though it's a full moon, to light their activities at night. And at other times, the king says that there will be a new moon in four days. Perhaps he's referring to a new month, rather than a new cycle of the moon. Then again, maybe the moon has set at some point in the night. Scholars have considered this, and there certainly is no one answer. Another interesting point is whether it is in fact set on the day of Midsummer, or the summer solstice. The title would certainly imply it. Yet, there are other lines which are conflicting. As for the holiday of Adonia, it wasn't always celebrated on Midsummer, or the summer solstice, although it usually was. Some cultures celebrated it earlier in spring, and others celebrated it in July, when the star Sirius was rising. At one point, the character Theseus observes a young couple sleeping, and wonders if perhaps they have been observing the rite of May. This would imply that the play is set in May, rather than June, at the time of Midsummer. However, if you look into the culture of Shakespeare's time, and consider some of the traditions around Midsummer and May Day, you'll realize that this may not be a reference to the fact that it is actually the month of May at the time. Observing the rite of May very well may have been an idiom of some kind, referring to irregular romantic relations. At that time, many moralists strongly denounced behavior which would take place during the summer. They felt that the warming of the weather led to a lot of outdoor shenanigans, less clothing, perhaps having picnics outdoors and kissing on the grass, all sorts of immoral behavior. So, observing the rite of May more likely means that he observes they've been having a romantic adventure out in the woods, as you can do in the summer, and not in the winter. When I think about A Midsummer Night's Dream, I think about some of the most famous characters and the beautiful lines. Yet Shakespeare can be a bit forbidding. It's daunting to read through something written so long ago, because some of the characters speak with such eloquent dialogue, it can be very hard to understand what they're saying. Nevertheless, Shakespeare wasn't intended to be read, necessarily. He wrote it to be performed on the stage, to be spoken aloud, and enjoyed in the drama of the theater. I think that's why Shakespeare is one of the most common source material for other stage adaptations, such as operas and ballets, and countless film adaptations, as well as symphonic works and paintings. His works continue to inspire new adaptations. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most magical, since it's set in ancient times, and has fairies, nymphs, and all sorts of whimsical creatures. I'm most familiar with the story because of the 1935 film based on it. This movie was made by Warner Brothers, and directed by Max Reinhardt. He was a German, and very creative and artistic. I think it's his European influence which makes this movie one of the most artistic films you'll find from the golden era of Hollywood. It's truly magical, but it also is very traditional and faithful to Shakespeare's works. Shortly before this film was made, there was a production, directed by Max Reinhardt, performed at the Hollywood Bowl. It was very successful, and it attracted the attention of Warner Brothers. So they decided to adapt it into a film. They used some of their stock Warner Brothers players, but they also used some of the performers who had been in the stage play. For instance, a young Olivia de Havilland, who would go on to be an Oscar-winning actress, and one of the oldest living stars from the golden era of Hollywood. This was the first movie she filmed. And she truly is lovely, as one of the Athenian maidens. Her British background made her very eloquent in delivering the speech. This movie was very different than the sort of films which Warner Brothers had been making in the earlier 1930s. Like most studios, Warner Brothers was known for its fast-paced, quick-talking, and scandalous movies in the early 1930s, which are now called the pre-code films. Warner Brothers was especially notorious for making very scandalous, violent films, especially gangster movies. As people began to be more and more horrified by the very low moral content and high violence in these movies, finally, enough was enough. The Motion Picture Production Code was put into place under the Production Code Administration in 1934, and this very effectively cleaned up movies. Instead of being salacious and sensationalist, movies became very artistic, intelligent, and moral, as well as more entertaining than ever before because more thought had to go into them. In the early days of the code, Hollywood wasn't quite sure where to turn. If they couldn't make their modern, fast dramas, what would they do? They decided to turn to the classics to show that they were turning over a new leaf. Shakespeare was one of the places they turned. Now, if you're familiar with Shakespeare and familiar with the rules of the Production Code, you'll realize why this is one of the few movies made during the code era, which is a faithful adaptation of a Shakespeare play. He would spend one-third of the year with Aphrodite one-third of the year with Persephone and the last third wherever he chose, wearing the clothing of the opposite gender and other items like that, which are full of innuendos in the dialogue. Now, a lot of it, such as the incidents about observing the Rite of May, is either so old or so intellectual and subtle that it would go over the head of a lot of people. And that's the case of some of the dialogue in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Some of the things which are being implied probably wouldn't have been allowed if it were being said in plain, modern English. However, the idea was that if you're cultured enough to understand that, hopefully you're also mature enough to not be overly aroused by a few lines in a movie. I appreciate the great detail to which this movie went. The costumes are exquisite. Rather than being completely ancient Greek, those of the Athenian citizens are rather Elizabethan, very close to what the performers would have worn at the first production, Shakespeare's era. Yet they have some touches of ancient Greece, such as laurels and lycacessaries. The Immortals, however, have more modern, 1930s-style clothes because they're supposed to be timeless. They have body suits or leotards, other things to imply that they're these whimsical, magical characters. It's one of the most magical films you'll find from the golden era of Hollywood. They didn't make many fantasy movies at that time. You could say it's similar to The Wizard of Oz with some of the little, whimsical creatures. It's almost like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but in live action. The colors are so beautiful, even though it's in black and white. You can see the shading in the shadows, the lights. They filmed the outdoor footage at Griffith Park, which was a popular place for location footage in Hollywood at the time. To give the trees a magical effect, they painted them orange, and it is very dramatic. The beautiful music by Felix Mendelssohn, which was called A Midsummer Night's Dream, was used as the background music. And it really is one of the stars in this work. As the strings play the quick notes, a lot of time is dedicated simply to showing magical nature. You can see the little fairies waking up from the leaves and flying through the air, using very impressive magical special effects. There are some excellent actors in this movie whom you wouldn't think would be Shakespeare actors, such as James Cagney, a renowned gangster actor playing Bottom the Weaver. He's surprisingly excellent in the role. He's very funny, but he's not self-conscious at all. He's completely dedicated to the role. And you don't even mind his slight New York accent. It makes sense because he's more of a commoner, as opposed to the British people being either the nobles or the royalty. Young Mickey Rooney is playing Puck, the mischievous little character who goes around causing trouble. Now, you may be familiar with Mickey Rooney from playing Andy Hardy for many years. This is a few years earlier. His voice hasn't changed, and he's very short as this little nymph-like character. Like James Cagney, he's completely dedicated to the character, and he has the most wild laugh. But he's perfect in the part. The music is always there, providing a great background. Interestingly, it was arranged by Erich Korngold, who was a great classical German composer. This was the first Hollywood film on which he did the scoring. Yet, he was so much in awe of the great Mendelssohn that he said he didn't want any screen credit for his work, even though he actually composed a few bits of it himself. This was the beginning of his Hollywood career, and he would go on to write many scores in his own right for later Warner Bros. films, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood. I think it's wonderful that this movie is an introduction to Shakespeare, yet is beautifully restrained because of the production code, and wonderfully artistic. You can enjoy actors, some of the greatest from the Golden Era, playing these unusual characters, but doing it with great skill. The beautiful dialogue, which transports you to another time. Amazing locations, and the sort of special effects which could never be done on the stage. Beautiful music, and lovely dancing. There's a fairy ballet, choreographed by the great Nijinska, who was the sister of Nijinsky, a famous Russian ballet dancer. Seeing the little fairies dance so magically, it brings to life all the things which we celebrate with Midsummer, or the summer solstice. The beauty of nature, and feasting, being outside in the woods, and all the wonderful things that we can enjoy during the summer. I think that that movie goes along very well with this article about a Midsummer Night's Feast. After you've enjoyed some Swedish shrimp salad with shaken cucumbers and dill, and finished it off with your Danish red fruit pudding with cream, you can enjoy this wonderful movie. After all, if you're inviting friends and family over for a celebration, you might as well finish it with a great classic film. It really gets you in the magical spirit of summer. Thank you for spending this time with me, exploring the history of Midsummer, St. John's Day, and Shakespeare's play with its ancient roots. Have a wonderful, magical summer. I hope that you can enjoy some of these traditions in your own celebrations. Have a wonderful summer.