With all that had happened, both with and to the Garridan family as they filtered into RhyDin in preparation for the Midsummer Solstice, it was little wonder that they had not fully prepared for the Longest Day with any real purpose.

With the work falling to Alenka and those younger than she to prepare and market the evening, the preparations were beginning with alacrity. The Glen was alive with hustle and bustle near every day, all the work supervised with steady and amused eyes by the elders and, of course, the Gypsy Queen, Melina Garridan.

Never mind that the evening promised a wedding as well, the younger gypsies threw themselves into their work with lively spirit, hoping for an evening well worth the effort.

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The Glen would be lit, at first, by the setting sun's dying rays, that gentle golden caress of beauty that would lead easily into the illumination of many fires, and lanterns hung high from the trees.

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The gypsies' vardo, drawn close together to encircle their camp while they stayed in RhyDin, would be drawn out, for one night only to encircle the welcoming glow of flame and celebration, firelight reflecting in loving contrast from the gold-flecked decorations of the Garridan gypsies' horse-drawn homes.

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And the food! Such food as was often seen, and in such quantities as to astonish and amaze. Tables laden with every good thing would groan with the weight, inviting the party-goers to eat before their bounty went crashing to the ground.

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And what is a Garridan clan's celebration without wine, spirits, and this year something concocted by the womenfolk, the Garridan's secret recipe for sangria.

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Rough-hewn tables and benches of varying size will be set out between and in front of the vardo caravans, and in a few select places, trees are being woven into archways, small, natural alcoves to accomodate those of a more private nature.

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So eat, drink, dance, and be merry, celebrate a long awaited union, and join the Garridan clan in raising the Glen to the skies, for the Midsummer Solstice has come to RhyDin!

THE PARTY BEGINS AT 21:00, SATURDAY 26th JUNE! ___________________

((On an OOC note - Yes, I know it's late. :grin: It only occurred to me today that nothing had been seen or said about the Solstice, and it's fairer on everyone to make it a weekend event.

Feel free to use this thread to show off any plans you might have for the Solstice - what you're wearing, any plans for booths and such. This is for everyone, so please have fun with it!

Hope to see you all on Saturday night!))

The event was meant to be small, what with the chaos as of late and the evening tightening circle of ill faces about her and her kin....But there was something magical between her brother and Niamh; a force unable to truly be denied, and the babe between them still growing within the lovely Eire rose was only further evidence of that. After seeing the dress however, Lilliana's heart was sealed, and she thrust herself and all her soul into the task of helping her sister with every and anything.

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The gypsy witch had been so busy between helping the affairs along, plotting with her mother, helping arrange and settle her fellow gypsy that'd come to settle to celebrate the holiday and the impending wedding, that she'd almost forgotten to start pulling out the various odds and ends she'd need to look presentable.

Rifling through her great oaken chest, Lilliana found a favored frock of breathable, sweet scented cotton. Pleased with the tiers and how they still fell in soft levels about her rounder bits, the witch left it out to air for the coming day. Flowers would be gathered and nestled into the curled spill of her hair of course, t'was the season for such earthly delights. Bangles of all odds and golden ends were pulled out as well; off sets to the lovely pendant her draconian lover had given her as of late....

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Quite the curious thing, this little pendant. The more she wore it in the sun, the greater her energy felt; Geomancy was a word he'd tossed about, but in truth such names meant little to the witch; all manner and make of magic were connected by an ethereal core. This pendant was merely a thoughtful token, one that Zayveon had described as, "a gift to help an already flourishing garden radiate all the brighter".

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Between herself, Niamh, their matronly gypsy queen Melina, and the other helping hands of the Garridan clan, it wasn't long before the glen was transformed into a place fit for wedding and party goers alike. Lighting was key, and with the help of magic and candle bright lanterns, the desired effect was easily achieved. As for those more there for the solstice celebration itself?....Well, wine and food would be a-plenty. Roasted meats, casks of wine, ale, and hard ciders alike. Lilliana was also quite sure than any folks looking for a dance partner wouldn't have their hands short or empty of a willing gypsy smile between all her cousins abound that evening...

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And as per usual, the buxom beaux made sure to have extra tents and spaces open for folks to lay their heads when they found the wine had gotten them too quickly and home was just much too far to trod for.

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With her Boys out of town on some sort of manly bonding week-end camping trip, Riley found herself without a date for Midsummer's. Oh, well. No matter. She was a very forward-thinking, modern woman who delighted in time to herself...and maybe Neo or Jin would need a date for the evening.

She selected her wardrobe carefully, choosing a pearl pink dress as well as a hat, some simple jewelery and of course, Danny's ring.

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With each day passing down toward the celebration of the Solstice, Alenka was left with little time to garb herself suitably for the day. But then, it was a night the entire gyspy clan would be showing themselves off, and there was no need to hold back as she had done on Beltane.

One of many gypsies who would be entertaining - and one of many ladies who had attended Lilli's night of dancing only a couple of months before - she would be bedecked in the more formal of her costumes for just such a purpose, one among many of the younger Garridan women.

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As the evening festivities of glorious Midsummer draw slowly to their close, the gypsies begin to settle into groups, and the storytellers begin to share their art. One such is the raven-dark hostess who, though spirited away no doubt during the course of the evening, will return to smile on her audience, and tell her tale. With the beat of the drum to lend rhythm to her voice, she begins.

"This be a story o' th' God, aye, an' the Goddess, an' the year they gives us s' freely ....Listen well, f'r there's little t'tell but wha' y'may not know, and what y'don' know can still be th' death o' ye.

"Our seasons begin at th' saddes' o' times, on th' night o' Samhain, which some among ye will know better as All Hallows, or Halloween. 'Tis the night when th' walls between worlds grows thin, and th' Goddess takes on th' mantle o' the Crone t' stand guard in her grief. Why does she grieve, I'm hearin' y'thinkin'" She grieves full rightly, f'r Samhain night is a night o'death, when the God's last breath is heard, an' he lives no more. 'Tis th' first night o'winter, and freely do we mourn wi' the Goddess the loss o' her lover, th' passin' o'summer, an' the cold, bitin' grip o'winter's fist. But in all this sorrow, there is hope ....the God lives still, beneath the Goddess' heart, waitin' for his time t'come forth an' bring wi' him th' first hope o'spring.

"Wi' Yule at Midwinter, we celebrate ligh' in darkness, an' th' Goddess celebrates wi'us. F'r th' God is born in the deepes' depths o'winter, and wi' him comes th' promise o' a new year o'plenty. The Crone throws off her mantle t'become th' Maiden, th' promise o'new life an' happiness rings true.

"Come Imbolc, th' evenin' o' th' Maiden, Candlemass t' some, we look back. We think on wha' has passed, an' what we've done, an' look ahead t' the burnin' spring tha's jus' beyond th' horizon. Th' Maiden and th' God are grown t' teen age now, an' soon they will meet an' drag th' land int' the full plenty o'spring.

"Ostara brings wi' it the drapin' o' the land in green and fertile finery, ready f'r th' plowin' an' reapin' t' come. The God shall meet his Goddess, an' love will follow. But take care th' no babe comes from this meetin' o minds an' senses, f'r th' harvest mus' firs' be gathered in, b'fore life can be nurtured proper."

She pauses, taking a sip of wine from a cup offered to her, nodding a smile to the drummer nearby. The tale is half-done, and she is leisurely in regaling her audience with the rest.

"Beltane ....ah, th' blessed night o' spring. We revel an' we play an' dance, an' wi'us dances th' Goddess wi' her God. 'Tis th' night o' fire, no' just in our homes an' our dances, but in our hearts an' bodies. That fire can' be quenched in a single evenin', but we do our bes', says we, t' honour th' fertile land. An' as th evenin' grows cold, an' we slip off t'beds an' lovin's, so too does the Goddess wi' her God. Th' Beltane fires burn out, but the lovin's gone past when th' mornin' comes leave a spark o' life within the womb ....the promised life tha' sleeps beneath Her heart.

"This night, Midsummer, the second o'th' Solstices, comes next. Litha, as 'tis in th' old tongue o' our forebears. Th' God is grown t'full manhood - He is our Sun King, seein' over all our doin's at th' height o' summer. Th' Maiden becomes th' Mother, her belly full an' ripe as th' harvest crops growin' in the fields. 'Tis th' season o'war an' skill, o'life abundant as the days begin t' fail.

"Th' beginnin' o' th' end, Lughasadh, Lammas, comes upon us righ' fast t' mark th' end o' th' summer months. The Sun King spills his blood o'er th' land, an' we reap th' bounty o' his sacrifice in grain an' wheat, an' all good things. He gives that we may take, thinks nothin' o' His pain in doin' it. But th' die is cast, an' as he fails, so too does th' summer, an' the world begins t' mourn.

"Autumn comes, the harvest is brough' in, and th' Sun King still fails. The night o' Mabon is celebrated gaily, as we store away foods t'hold back the deathly chill o' th' winter. We give thanks t' th' Goddess an' Her God f'r seein' us safe through winter an' summer, we dance an' sing an' play. But our steps are heavy, f'r we know that soon the dyin' rays o' the Sun King will be gone, and the weigh' o' our grief will be much.

"And so comes around Samhain, where we bid farewell t'th' God as he sails west unto the lands beyond death. Sorrow comes, an' wi' it, the cold clenchin' grasp o' winter. But in th' darkness, there is a spark o' hope. F'r we know, as does the Crone, that though He is gone, He'll live once more, birthed int' new life at the comin' of Yule."

Silence, and the story is done. But it will live on in the minds of the listeners as they watched the seasons turn. __________________________ http://www.taracelebrations.org/download/pictures/-_Summer_Solstice/summer_solstice_predawn_sunrise_08.jpg __________________________ ((Source. Cross posted with Fables By Firelight.))

Joey had decided to go with a bit of an Egyptian theme with her makeup and outfit for the Midsummer Event. A gold snake cuff with emeralds adorns her left bicep which matches her emerald green satin corset dress. Sunkissed skin is dusted to a perfect golden glow and her eyes have been painted in various shades of green and gold.

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