Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and England has some unique celebrations that were certainly around in Regency times and may have dated back centuries, and some of them are just plain weird. The most famous modern solstice celebration is that at Stonehenge, where over twenty thousand people gathered this morning at sunrise.

In Cornwall, there are midsummer bonfire festivals.

Chanctonbury Ring in Sussex has the peculiar power to raise the devil if you can persuade someone to run around it seven times anti-clockwise and you can see fairies if you recite A Midsummer Night’s Dream there on midsummer night’s eve (hmm. We should have commissioned Cara and Todd for this one). It has quite a reputation for paranormal events and experiences.

Derbyshire has its own peculiar brand of midsummer celebrations with well-dressing, something that is probably associated with the ancient worship of sacred springs. Villagers create pictures, often very elaborate and detailed, made of flowers and leaves stuck into clay in a wooden frame which are then displayed at the local well. Although the tradition is associated with the solstice, the season lasts from May until September. In one of those particularly odd English marriages of the official and pagan, here the Mayor and Bishop of Derby bless the Derby offering of 1997.

The solstice is also considered to be a powerful time for love divinations and the best time to gather herbs for magical properties (if you want to dream of your future lover, by the way, sleep with some yarrow beneath your pillow).

Do you know of any interesting solstice customs? Have you read or written about one?

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Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and England has some unique celebrations that were certainly around in Regency times and may have dated back centuries, and some of them are just plain weird. The most famous modern solstice celebration is that at Stonehenge, where over twenty thousand people gathered this morning at sunrise.

In Cornwall, there are midsummer bonfire festivals.

Derbyshire has its own peculiar brand of midsummer celebrations with well-dressing, something that is probably associated with the ancient worship of sacred springs. Villagers create pictures made of flowers and leaves stuck into clay in a wooden frame, often very elaborate and detailed, which are then on display at the local well. Although the tradition is associated with the solstice, the season lasts from May until September. In one of those particularly odd English marriages of the sacred and profane, here the Mayor and Bishop of Derby bless the Derby offering of 1997.

This past weekend we attended the Eurocar 2007 show at the Lorenzo State Historic Site in Cazenovia, NY, arriving in our vintage Mini of course.

Built in 1807 by John Linklaen (of Dutch origin), house is furnished with items from the Regency through the Victorian eras. There’s a virtual house tour on the website. A treat is the carriage house with a mini museum including a collection of antique carriages and sleighs, a few close to “our” time period. It’s definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

I toured the house with my children last year but this year we had the pleasure of participating in a “Victorian Fashion Show” in which the presenter dressed my oldest daughter as if she were going for a drive. Some of the things she said made me wonder but I’m by no means an expert on period clothing, especially Victorian. I’m curious to learn what some of our clothing experts think.

Here’s my daughter after donning drawers, chemise (tucked in–is that right?) and corset. The corset itself I know to be inaccurate, because it happens to be the same modern one I wear under my Regency gown. It weirded me out a bit to see it on my daughter! She laced it in front, too, which isn’t how this corset is designed to be worn and I thought most corsets still laced in the back during the Victorian era. I think maybe it was just easier to do it that way. The point was made that corseting was used to achieve a particular look. As it was 85 degrees out and humid, I’m grateful she did not tighten it too much!

The next layers included petticoat, hoops, another petticoat and bustle pad. The presenter said they might wear as many as 10 petticoats and that the full weight of the clothing might be something around 40 lb, which seems staggering to me. If true, this seems quite brutal, especially in summer.

The other thing she said, as she completed my daughter’s toilette with dress, shawl, bonnet and parasol, was that women were not supposed to show any skin other than the face and hands. Hence the long sleeves and high neck of the gown. By this point I was worrying I’d have to sprinkle water on my kid to revive her, but she did look cute!

Comparing to the Regency (check out
Kalen’s dressing the Regency heroine page) the initial layers of clothing aren’t very different. But without the profusion of petticoats, the hoops, etc…, the Regency lady’s clothing load would be far lighter. And at least she was allowed to show some neck and arm, allowing some body heat to escape if necessary!

As I said, I’m not sure everything in this presentation was precisely correct but it does generally match what I’ve read about the Victorian era. I like to be very active but I’m also a bit prone to heat exhaustion, so I’d have a lot of trouble putting a heroine into this sort of clothing. If I ever wrote a Victorian heroine, she’d have to be a rebellious, Bohemian type and flout at least some of these clothing conventions!

How about you? Can you get over these sorts of things when reading/writing Victorian set romance? Any interesting sites you recommend visiting that are closer to home for most of us than England?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Amanda just mentioned her Edwardian gown. Here it is! (and my Regency one, made from a real reproduction Regency pattern)