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Who: All Camelot members & affiliates! No strange, sorry
What: Camelot's annual summer solstice party
Where: Camelot Castle (Glastonbury, UK)
When: Backdated to Saturday, June 20th, 2020 (all day/night, feel free to time jump around)
For all of the celebrations that Camelot holds during the year, the summer solstice is perhaps the most steeped in something that resembles real ritual. Blink and you might miss it, but it's there, in every hanging of green along the castle walls or ember that sparks from the bonfire that burns until dawn. Camelot is home to many reincarnates of all different backgrounds and not all have a personal connection to the earth, but there's a magic in the land that protects them all. That magic is more tangible on days like this, the castle and the grounds that surround it somehow seeming even more enchanted.
It's a day to celebrate many things, marked by festivals and celebrations all around the world to welcome the first day of summer. It's a day marked by endings, new beginnings and rebirth. In the very early days of Camelot, Midsummer marked a more literal celebration of rebirth, celebrating the blessings of life and fertility with the kind of hedonistic rituals that have no place in the world anymore. The Morgan family and Camelot have long ago left those traditions behind for something more spiritual, but their intimate connection to the land and the magic that runs within it remains ever strong.
The traditional bonfires are still lit on the highest hills inside Camelot's borders, though in more recent years hardly anyone recognizes the ancient pagan belief that a bonfire on Midsummer's Eve keeps evil spirits at bay. Small spires wrapped in lush greens are erected all over the grounds, greenery is hung from every available surface on the exterior of the castle and the far off stables to bring good fortune and health to its people and animals. Paper boats are filled with flowers and set out on the lake to drift throughout the day, once a way of honoring the Goddess and now a practice for those who find the visual soothing, a precursor to the colorful fireworks that take place over the lake later on in the evening.
No more altars, no more stone circles. Not since a full moon joined the summer solstice four years prior for the first time in over seventy years and a poor, unsuspecting follower wandered too far from a ley line. For as far as Camelot has strayed from old traditions, there are some things that still hold unquestionable power over the setting sun and rising moon, and even modern institutions can fall prey to the wiles of Fae tricks. Mortals be ever fools.
The inside of the castle is littered with candles and wreaths decorating countless tables of food and drink, while the grounds are covered in paper lanterns and twinkling lights to illuminate even the darkest paths. You can hear the faint sounds of music even from the farthest edges of the borders, though to anyone beyond it, all they would hear are the peaceful sounds of day passing and night falling. It's been decades since any traditional garb was required though some more eccentric members still choose to paint themselves for the occasion, but for most, it's simply an excuse to honor the day. Celebrations begin at sunrise and stretch on well into the night to pay tribute to the balance between light and darkness, while basking in the extended presence of the sun. Midsummer, after all, is when daylight feels as if to never end (so drink responsibly).