Lugh, the Sun, the Solstice
Summer Solstice. Midsummer. The longest day of the year. It’s the time when the sun is at its farthest point north from the equator. For some, the day is celebrated as Midsummer, a pre-Christian pagan tradition of the marriage of the Sun God and Earth Goddess, of fertility. For Christians, it’s St. John ‘s Eve, a celebration. For most of us, it’s just hot.
For archaeologists, Carrowkeel Cairn, in County Sligo, Ireland, holds a special interest at Midsummer. The tomb is aligned with the summer solstice sun (while the more famous Newgrange is aligned with the winter solstice).