Midsummer Day is the 24th June; this is also the day upon which the birth of St. John the Baptist is celebrated by the Christian Church. During the Middle Ages it was a joyous time of feast and merry-making, for in these old times, as you must have gathered from this little book, people did not work and worry so much as they do nowadays. But here is a curious thing: nearly all the ceremonies connected with this holiday were performed the night previous--variously called Midsummer's Eve, or St. John's Eve. These customs and ceremonies were observed in various forms throughout Christendom, and some of them were very strange. I have often had to tell you that many of our holiday practices and usages were founded upon ancient heathen rites and ceremonies; this is perhaps more observable in connection with Midsummer Eve than upon any other holiday occasion. Flowers and fire were two things that became of great importance on Midsummer's Eve. Nearly every town and village had its bonfire lit in the market-place, and at one time these fires were formally blessed by the priests of the church. One practice connected with these fires, a practice that carries us far back into heathen times, was the way in which the boys and girls leaped through and over the flames. It was also customary to fling flowers and garlands into the fires, while the people, young and old, circled round the blaze with merry antics and gleeful songs. Great processions were also formed to visit the woods and bring back green boughs wherewith to decorate the houses on St. John's Eve. The boughs were hung round doors and windows with joyful shoutings, in recognition of the prophecy that many would rejoice at the birth of John the Baptist. Midsummer's Eve was regarded as a time when the strangest things might easily happen. That is probably the reason why Shakspere called his play "A Midsummer Day's Dream," and make Puck and the other fairies play such pranks with the mortals that they found wandering out-of-doors. It used to be a common belief in Ireland, and the superstition still lingers, that on this night the souls of all sleeping people left their bodies, and went wandering into strange places, sometimes never to return. To avoid this dangerous possibility it was usual to keep awake during that night. But to keep watch did not always prevent the watcher from having gruesome experiences. In England it was quite a prevalent opinion that if you sat in the church porch all St. John's Eve you would see the spirits of those who were soon to die in the parish come and knock at the church door.