Midsummer Hope

Midsummer is a celebrated tradition in many cultures as the mid point of the year. Midsummer takes place at the time of summer solstice and is known in Germany as ‘Johhanistag’ to represent John the Baptist. There was a lot of superstition around midsummer as it was believed that midsummer plants contained healing properties. On the eve before, bonfires were lit and there was dancing. This tradition dates back to the 12th century as a way to ward off evil spirits from livestock, prevent disease and to protect the forthcoming harvest1.

Midsummer is an ancient ritual containing both healing and protective properties from olden times. However, it may also be applicable to modern times with regards to benefits for mental health and well being. Indeed the celebration of midsummer when the daylight hours are longest can naturally benefit the circadian rhythm which is responsible for the 24 hour body clock. Having more daylight hours in the day also means being outside more which can provide a sense of well-being.

The premise of healing plants suggests midsummer was also seen as a healing time and providing a sense of hope before the harvest and winter months. The winter months are when people struggle most with mental health which has been linked to Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and/or depression2. Indeed, depression is often characterized by a lack of hope for the future. Research has shown that depression can also result in perceiving the probability of experiencing positive events as low and negative events as high3.  The theory of learned helplessness4 states that when people can become  conditioned to believe a negative situation cannot be changed may explain why those with depression may attribute negative events to internal, stable and global causes and thus can be resistant to change.