Celebrating Litha

Simple ways to mark this time of abundance, and a recipe for elderflower and summerfruit cake 🌸

Happy Solstice! Today is Litha or Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere. The ancient festival celebrates the longest day and shortest night as the Earth tilts closest to the sun and the evenings seem endless here in Scotland. Litha is the second Summer festival in the Celtic Wheel of the Year. It is a time associated with light, growth, fertility and abundance. Marking these ancient celebrations, taking time to take stock and engage in small acts of making is an antidote to the hustle and bustle of everyday life for me. A reminder of the bigger picture and the rhythm of the seasons.

Speaking of which, a warm hello if you recently joined me from Nostalgia Corporation who made this beautiful film telling the story of our Edinburgh home and how I built it around the seasons. Lena and Ilya really captured the soul of our home and the video has had a really lovely response so far. You can read the full transcript of the interview here too.

Here are some ways that I’ve be celebrating the Solstice this weekend, and how I’ll be led by the season in the coming weeks – I hope you join me.

A Simple Picnic Dinner

Like a cup of tea drunk outside, food eaten outdoors seems to taste better. There’s no better treat to mark Midsummer than a delicious meal outdoors. Fill an old basket with tupperware and a flask: keep it simple with a seasonal salad, frittata or a pastry, bought or homemade, fresh seasonal fruit and maybe a traybake pre-cut into slices – guaranteed crowd pleasers in portable form! And if you’re short on time like me, even a cup of tea and a biscuit eaten outside on your lunch break instead of in front of a screen can do wonders to fill your cup.

Fire and Light

As a time associated with light and abundance, communal bonfires lit during Litha were often thought to symbolise the sun and its life-giving powers as well as to ward off evil creatures. Introducing the symbolism of light and fire to your Solstice celebrations is a way to connect with these past rituals. Perhaps a beach bonfire with ritual intention setting on scraps of paper you then burn? Even just lighting the candles for a special meal at home can be a powerful reminder to savour the light. I favour beeswax dinner candles for their honeyed glow, and my favourite soy wax scented candles are by St Eval (Bay and Rosemary is my year-round go-to) - they last forever and smell amazing.

Floral Celebrations

The Summer Solstice is a time associated with wearing and decorating with flowers in many European countries. Gathering and decorating your house with simple jam jar posies is a lovely way to bring some of that natural abundance indoors, whether foraged wildflowers, locally grown blooms or even an arrangement of herbs! This week has been British Flowers Week and Flowers from the Farm has a great list of local growers. I’m really looking forward to my Summer Flower Crown workshop at Gorse with Ochre Botanical Studios this coming Wednesday in Edinburgh (if you’re local, click here to sign up to be notified of future gatherings, workshops and retreats first). If you live further afield, the technique is in my book, Slow Seasons: it’s essentially like making a wreath (i.e. wiring together small bundles of blooms - it’s incredibly satisfying and good for busy brains like mine!). A gorgeous ritual to mark this Midsummer moment, especially when made in circle with friends.

Seaweed Pressing

If you’re not a flowery person, there are plenty of other natural sights and signs to look out for at this time of year - and even preserve. Seaweed is often overlooked; I only really started to appreciate the different shapes and varieties when I found out that you can press and preserve it, and began to admire the range of organic textures, colours and creative potential this natural material provides. It’s something that feels so nostalgic to me - I grew up by the seaside, and feel the sea is part of my very soul. There’s a whole section on different seaweeds you can spot in Slow Seasons, as well as step by step instructions for how to press seaweed to make into art - a popular Victorian pastime and one that has seen a resurgence in recent years. I’ve got my eye on a seaweed press from Studio Wald (whose flower presses went down a storm at my Beltane Seasonal Gathering), but a stack of heavy books will do for now!

Elderflower and Summerfruit Cake

Herbs and flowers were traditionally foraged by our ancestors at this time of year, thought to be gathered for their magical properties. Elderflower is pretty magical to me: its micro-season, delicate flavour and scent so incredibly evocative of early Summer. I love using it in cordials (like the recipe for elderflower and rose cordial I shared on Instagram) and in a simple elderflower vinegar. This elderflower and summerfruit cake was on my shortlist to include in Slow Seasons but sadly had to be cut, so I thought I’d share it with you here instead! You can use any seasonal jam: strawberry, gooseberry or raspberry would all be delicious.

To make the cake, you will need:

175g sugar

175g butter

175g self-raising flour

3 large free-range eggs

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

For the filling:

Summerfruit jam, approx 6 tbsp.

200ml double cream

Elderflower cordial, to taste (1 - 2 tbsp).

• Preheat the oven to 160C Fan. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

• Add the eggs one at a time along with the cordial and a little flour.

• Fold in the rest of the flour until fully incorporated.

• Pour the mixture into two 20cm lined tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

• Once baked, allow to cool a little in the tins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

• Once cooled, spread the jam on top of one of the sponges.

• Whip the cream to stiff peaks (be careful not to overmix) then fold in the cordial and spread on top of the jam.

• Place the other sponge carefully on top of the filling. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

I will see you next for Lùnastal, the first of the harvest festivals and mid-point between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox at the start of August. In the meantime, I’ll be here sharing my weekly posts in my paid community, with a recipe, craft, journaling prompts, seasonal glimmers, activities and seasonal reading recommendations spread across each season. I’d love it if you joined us there - here’s a flavour of some of my recent posts:

Setting the Table for Litha (and my Solstice menu)

Litha Elderflower & Lemon Drizzle Loaf

Litha Glimmers

Seasonal Reading: Litha

Seasonal Reflections (journaling prompts)

Air Dry Clay Flower Frog

Earl Grey and Strawberry Scones

If you live locally then do look out for news of my seasonal gatherings (and secure your spot to hear first by signing up here). Thanks so much for being here and have a wonderful rest of June and July! See you soon xxx

You can find more seasonal musings, recipes, crafts and lifestyle ideas in my book, ‘Slow Seasons’, which you can order from a number of places here, or from me on my website directly here.