Golowan

The Golowan festival is one of the many old traditions in the UK.  A fantastic and highly energetic celebration in honor of the longest day of the year known as Midsummer. "Golowan" means "Feast of John" in the Cornish dialect and is celebrated on June 24th the Eve of St.John's day.  The best place to join in on this celebration is in Penzance Cornwall.

The  'Obby 'Oss  (Cornish for Hobby Horse) is the center figure of these festivals seen here with a horse-skull head, wearing a cloak.  The 'Teazer', also known locally as The Bucca - a Cornish Pagan deity with aspects of light and dark, helps preside over Golowan with her.  Together they dance and twirl creating quite the giddy and scary atmosphere as they travel the streets after dark.  The Obby 'Oss bows, rocks and snaps her jaws and stamps her feet at the festival's attendants. She represents the seasonal energies of death & rebirth and is a beautiful sight bouncing along with flowers adoring her mane.  

The Teaser, her companion, travels in the form of Bucca Gwidder (the white god) at Midsummer and Bucca Dhu (the black god) at Midwinter. (More on this deity at another time) keeping the Obby 'Oss's attention by guiding her energies.
 

The festival's roots are most assuredly pagan in origin.  One exhilarating tradition of Golowan is jumping over the fire which, it is said, will protect one from harm the following year.  Here the bonfire is ignited and when it burns to a safe intensity is raked into a shape easily traversed.

Bonfires are lit all over the countryside celebrating the two extremes of the sun.  At Midsummer after warming oneself at the fire you can follow a path leading down to the sea where after 'the jump' one can immerse themselves in the frothy waves.

Happy Solstice!