Liða

Ærra Liða, the month before Midsummer (June). The meaning of Liða is uncertain (might be associated with the moon) but it was probably the name given to either sunrise on the longest day – the height of the sun’s power - or the midsummer day sunrise (four days later) which marked the sun’s retreat from brightness and growth and brought the onset of darkness and decay. Whatever the case, it is probable that Liða was a fire festival and that it involved celebration of the passage of the moon.

Æftera Liða, the month after Midsummer (July).

Vidurvasaris.

Vasaros saulėgrįža.

The lunar month corresponding to June was known as Ærra Liða, 'first' or 'preceding' Liða and July was Æfterra Liða, 'following Liða'. Bede writes that "Litha means 'gentle' or 'navigable', because in both these months [June and July] the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea." Since the adjective liðe does appear in other Anglo-Saxon contexts meaning 'calm' or 'gentle', along with the verb liðan meaning 'to sail', and a host of other 'lið-' words with nautical connotations, Bede's explanation seems wholly plausible.

Some modern pagan authors have interpreted Liða as the Anglo-Saxon name for the summer solstice due to its symmetry with Yule within the old calendar. Ærra Liða, June, and Æfterra Liða, July, fall before and after the summer solstice just as Ærra Geola, December, and Æfterra Geola, January, fall before and after the winter solstice. But since there is no record of any Anglo-Saxon words related to liða that have a meaning encompassing the concept of 'the sun', this idea remains within the realm of speculation. Of course, one could also speculate that liða refers to the summer solstice because the sun can metaphorically be seen to sail, liðan, across the sky. But since the solstice is the point where the sun appears to stop moving (solstice literally means 'sun-stop' in Latin), sailing would seem an odd choice of metaphor for this particular celestial event.

Blessed Litha.

lið host, folk, people; fyrða l, the people; þeir vóru allir eins liðs, they were all of one party; vera einn sins liðs, to be alone;
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liða noun pl gen

liði follower (liðar þat eru fylgðarmenn);
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liða noun sg acc
liða noun sg gen
liða noun sg dat
liða noun pl acc
liða noun pl gen

líða to go, pass, glide (er skipit leið fram hjá flotanum); l e-m ór hug, to pass out of one�s memory;
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líða verb 3rd pl pres ind act
líða verb 1st sg pres subj act
liða verb 1st sg perf subj act

liða - to pass

láta tímann líða - let time pass

láta tímann líða - get through, while away

láta tímann líða - īsināt laiku

láta tímann líða - коротать время

láta tímann líða - leisti