Summer Solstice Festival

Metblogs ^ | 6/16/2008 | Beth

[glide625]

On the second-to-last day of school in Seattle, the fifth-grade class at B.F. Day Elementary School is bustling around the art room, cutting streamers, trying on hats and testing out their twirls. Volunteers from the Fremont Arts Council are also busy, helping students scissor through fabric, glue on streamers and parade their wares around the school......Like many Fremonsters, the kids who attend B.F. Day are excited about next Saturday’s parade.The Fremont Solstice Parade will be held on June 21st at noon- directions can be found on the Fremont Arts Council’s website.

[glide625]

I didn't know much about this Summer Solstice thing, so of course I looked it up on the internet and was led to http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm After reading that, it really made me wonder. First we have the school kids decorating for the parade and now we see the parade is all about a largely Pagan/Wiccan celebration. I found the footnote references to this second article quite informative as well! "Litha," a list of links to web sites about Litha, is at: http://paganwiccan.about.com/religion/paganwiccan "Litha," a description of the festival from a Neopagan perspective, is at: http://home.att.net/ "Litha: Summer Solstice," at: http://www.byzant.com/ "Morgana, "Ritual feasts - handfasting," at: http://www.newavalon.com/ G.S. Hawkins, "Stonehenge decoded," Doubleday (1965), Pages 46 & 47.

Do I somehow detect a double standard with regard to the treatment of certain practices over others?

[RexBeach]

I love it that the initials of this school are “BFD”.

Perhaps that stands for “Big F***ing Druids”?

I couldn’t resist. :)

[Jeff Chandler]

Paganism: IN

Islam: IN

Kwanzaa: IN

Christianity: OUT

[onedoug]

[GovernmentShrinker]

The summer solstice is an astronomical event tied to the changing of seasons (the day with the longest period between sunrise and sunset, after which the days start getting shorter again). While it is observed by various brands of pagans, there’s nothing to indicate there was anything pagan about this school’s summer solstice celebration. It’s a secular festival, without any particular religious or political significance, which is why it’s suitable for a public school.

Not that there’s anything suitable about the existence of public schools, IMO.

BTW, the date on which Christmas is celebrated was chosen to coincide with the winter solstice, as it was already being celebrated by pagans all over Europe (it’s now off by a few days due to calendar adjustments many centuries ago). The best available historical evidence indicates that the actual date of Jesus’ birth was most likely sometime in what we now call March.

[PurpleMan]

What to do is here:

http://arago4.tnw.utwente.nl/stonedead/movies/holy-grail/scene-05.html

[Redcloak]

Hey! Now there’s a good idea: Have ‘em build a wicker man and stick all of the classroom pets inside. That way, no one gets stuck with taking care of guinea pigs or frogs over the summer.

[glide625]

It seems that any celebrations of “Christian” Christmas are completely beyond the pale as it were in the Gov’t schools; and we have all read of the cancelation or severe restrictions placed on other holidays of religious or even apparent religious significance, including, oddly enough Haloween. I’m not a clueless uneducated idiot unaware of the astronomical significance of either the Summer nor the Winter Solstice. I would take no offense to the study in school of the movement of the planets, the sun, etc. However, it strikes me that there’s a big difference between “study” of astronomical events and encouraging children to dance in the streets with festive hats at the onset of the Summer solstice. Just as there’s a significant difference between studying the astronomical events that surround the Winter Solstice and the encouragment of or allowing of children to wander about singing “Silent Night”.

I might add as well that I also don’t support the gov’t’s use of my tax dollars to promote students involvement of any “secular” festivals. Secularism has become as much a “religion” with anti-Religious Left as Christianity is a “religion”.

[glide625]

I like the way you think! But you left out the “and then set the wicker man on fire while the children dance round in gleeful celebration as their animal offerings are sent off to appease the Sun god!”

[Redcloak]

That, of course, is the point of the wicker man. It’s a burnt offering. (Betcha the Gaia worshippers didn’t know that!)

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I suppose next the children will be taught to weep for Tammuz.

[Oratam]

I call for the separation of Henge and State.

[dmz]

No, you don’t detect a double standard, and if you do, it is one of your own making.

The page http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm is a balanced exegesis of how different cultures and religions view the summer solstice. It even lists the Christian holiday that occurs just around the summer solstice, funny you did not mention that, only the pagan parts that you have issues with.

Additionally, while you have taken great pains to indicate a link to a pagan/wiccan site, you neglect to mention the link to the Catholic encyclopedia only 5 items down from pagan/wiccan link.

Fair and balanced is not, apparently, something you wish to model in this regard.

[lastchance]

Summer Solstice is a major Wiccan and other Neo Pagan holiday. No doubt the celebration was done in a manner acceptable to the great hawk eyes of all who disdain any hint of relgion in the public sphere. But Christmas which has been hijacked by merchants of manna does not dare even make a peep in most public schools. Oh sure you have Winter Carnival and December Follies but Christmas. Nope, it is a sure way to bring upon the wrath of ACLU.

The school may have pulled the wool over many eyes but not mine. You can be sure somewhere in the future there will be a "Honoring Gaia" day. Oh wait that is already here, I forgot about Earth day. Well guys better take care if the crops start looking peaked you best run for the hills. Se