Midaëte

Midaëte
Celebrating Midsummer
Also called	Midsummer, summer solstice
Observed by	humans, elves, halflings, dwarves, possibly gnomes
Type	Cultural, seasonal, astronomical
Significance	Marks the beginning of summer – the Sun's greatest victory over darkness of night; the cleansing power of fire and water; beginning of Feainn savaed.
Celebrations	Festivals, house and fence decoration, crown wreathing, erecting bonfires, jumping over and dancing around them, feasting, singing, fortune telling, letting wreaths float on water, searching for fern flower
Date	summer solstice
Related to	Feainn savaed, Holy Week, Elven calendar

Midaëte (Common: Midsummer) is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, celebrated as part of the elven year. It marks the beginning of the sixth savaed in the elven calendar, Feainn.

Traditions

After decorating their houses and lands with birch or oak branches, flower and leaves, especially ferns, people began their celebrations by building a bonfire, singing and feasting. Girls, after rubbing their bodies with adder's-tongue fern's leaves to magically raise their attractiveness, danced naked on the glades wet with dew. Midsummer was the first night during which water was considered free from the forces of evil and darkness and folk willingly bathed, seeking the water's healing properties which were believed to be derived from the Moon. Maidens floated flower wreaths on the surfaces of rivers or lakes. If the wreathes burned or sank, it was said to signify spinsterhood; if they flowed along the river – marriage would come, but late, and if they were caught by a young man, rather more imminently. Lads who managed to catch a wreath sought out the girl who made it. After the pairing, the couples would go into the woods to search for the fern flowers allegedly guarded by evil spirits.

Due to its date, Midsummer is perhaps a part of the Holy Week observations.

In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

“

Midaëte, or Midsummer, is the day of the summer solstice and marks the beginning of the first month of summer in the elven solar calendar. Elves believe that all things under the sun occur in cycles. After Midaëte the days grow shorter and the dying commences – to last until the winter solstice. Summer Shrines erected on this day give praise to the sun and life, while acknowledging death's certainty. Spells that protect living things and draw power from the sun's heat are particularly strong near these shrines. Witches use them to bless crops and summon fire. Even Godless witchers bow before Summer Shrines to augment the intensity of their Signs.

”

One of DLCs contains Summer Shrines connected with Midaëte.