This fact of itself seems to prove that
among the Mohammedan peoples of Northern Africa, as among the
Christian peoples of Europe, the midsummer festival is quite
independent of the religion which the people publicly profess, and
is a relic of a far older paganism.
6. The Hallowe'en Fires
FROM THE FOREGOING survey we may infer that among the heathen
forefathers of the European peoples the most popular and widespread
fire-festival of the year was the great celebration of Midsummer Eve
or Midsummer Day. The coincidence of the festival with the summer
solstice can hardly be accidental. Rather we must suppose that our
pagan ancestors purposely timed the ceremony of fire on earth to
coincide with the arrival of the sun at the highest point of his
course in the sky. If that was so, it follows that the old founders
of the midsummer rites had observed the solstices or turning-points
of the sun's apparent path in the sky, and that they accordingly
regulated their festal calendar to some extent by astronomical
considerations.
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