For many bygone civilizations, the summer solstice - the longest day of the year - was endowed with great significance. People celebrated this special day, which falls in June in the northern hemisphere and is also known as midsummer, with festivals, celebrations and other observances, some of which still survive or have experienced a revival in modern times.
Though a connection between the Celtic high priests and England's Stonehenge has never been reliably established, many people who identify as modern-day Druids still gather at the mighty monument every midsummer.

Ancient Egyptians

The summer solstice was particularly important to the ancient Egyptians because it coincided with the start of the Nile’s flooding season. It was believed that at this time the goddess Isis shed tears of mourning for her dead husband Osiris, causing the river to rise and nourish the Nile Valley. Festivals were held to honor both deities and celebrate fertility and abundance.

What follows is a simple account of how, in earlier times, the Eastern Slavs, particularly the pre-Christian Russians, interacted with nature. Pre-Christian slavic religion was mainly based on nature worship. Fire, Earth and Water figured prominently in its beliefs and ritual practices. The forces of nature were personified, feared, and revered, and the Slavs developed a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses. However, the three main gods of their pantheon were linked together not in a hierarchical way, but in a mutually complementary way, where each was incomplete without the other. A whole cycle of rituals revolved around various forces of nature and their personified images. The arrival of Christianity as the official religion and the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church culminated in the banning of many folk ritual practices which were pre-Christian in origin, and in the persecution of those who practised them. Yet, a complete annihilation of earlier beliefs and practices could never be accomplished. Pre-Christian beliefs and gods exerted such a strong influence upon the Russian mind that the only way to come to terms with them was through incorporating them in the mainstream of the Christian order. Water, Fire, and the Mother Earth Goddess were, and have remained, the most powerful images of Russian religious beliefs and practices, and folk memory has remained loyal to the personified and non-personified images of these elements.

10th century silver Thor’s hammer pendant from Iceland shows how the Vikings balanced between Norse religion and Christianity (Photo: Gisli Gestsson, National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík)
The attack in 793 AD at the English monastery at Lindisfarne did not only signal the beginning of the Viking Age, but also the beginning of a nearly 300-year period of widespread trade and assimilation between Norse pagans and Christian Europeans. The Vikings were pragmatists, and let themselves be marked with the sign of the cross to be able to form alliances and trade agreements in a Catholic Europe.

The silver pendant found in Iceland can be interpreted as either a Thor’s hammer, also known as ’Mjölnir’, or a crucifix. The similarity was convenient for the Vikings who had to deal with a Europe that was under the powerful influence of the Catholic Church.

Estonian Journal of Archaeology, 2012

Abstract
The article examines the archaeological finds from Estonia that are decorated in Scandinavian Late Viking Age ornamental styles. The majority of such finds come from burials in local fashion. The aim of the article is to outline the role of Scandinavian ornament in culture, social strategies, ideology and identity of the local society. Belt fittings and silver-plated weapons comprise the largest part of such finds. While the belt fittings often show simplified patterns, pure Scandinavian style ornament is found on weapons. The current article aims to propose a connection between warfare and warrior culture and the usage of Scandinavian ornament in Estonia. This martial link is found to coincide with the meanings proposed for animal ornament in Scandinavia. In Estonia, the fashion to decorate weapons was most widely spread in the time of Ringerike and Urnes styles, In that period, decorated weapons may have had a specific role in social strategies, probably implying the rise in position of the warrior strata.

Maslenitsa (Russian: Ма́сленица, Ukrainian: Масниця, Belarusian: Масьленіца)

According to archeological evidence from 2nd century A.D. Maslenitsa may be the oldest surviving Slavic holiday. Maslenitsa has its origins in the pagan tradition. In Slavic mythology, Maslenitsa is a sun-festival, personified by the ancient god Volos, and a celebration of the imminent end of the winter.

It is a time when societal rules could be broken including wearing masks and clothing of the opposite gender, role-playing, gorging.

In some regions, each day of Maslenitsa had its traditional activity. Monday may be the welcoming of «Lady Maslenitsa» (чучело Масленицы). The community builds the Maslenitsa effigy out of straw (из соломы), decorated with pieces of rags, and fixed to a pole formerly known as Kostroma. It is paraded around and the first pancakes may be made and offered to the poor. On Tuesday, young men might search for a fiancée to marry after lent. On Wednesday sons-in-law may visit their mother-in-law who has prepared pancakes and invited other guests for a party. Thursday may be devoted to outdoor activities. People may take off work and spend the day sledding, ice skating, snowball fights and with sleigh rides. On Friday sons-in-law may invite their mothers-in-law for dinner. Saturday may be a gathering of a young wife with her sisters-in-law to work on a good relationship.

The most characteristic food of Maslenitsa is bliny thin pancakes or crepes, made from the rich foods: butter, eggs and milk.

A simple, factual explanation of what Paganism actually is. It is pure information written for anyone who is non Pagan or who is Pagan but wants to know more. It is not meant to impress or proselytize.
In simplest terms Paganism is a religion of place, or a native religion, for example the Native American's religion is Pagan, and Hinduism is a form of Paganism. All Pagan religions are characterized by a connection and reverence for nature, and are usually polytheistic i.e. have many Gods and/or Goddesses.
Modern Paganism as practiced in the west is particular to the native peoples of the west and although there are many forms most are descended from Celtic origins. Modern Paganism or “neo-Paganism” has the following characteristics:

JONAS VAISKUNAS

Abstract

I have previously presented some evidence concerning the possibility of a Baltic zodiac, documented by archaeological arte­ facts and supported by historical sources (Vaiskiinas 2000). It seems clear that such knowledge was imported into the Baltic region from Classical and Medieval cultures to the south. If the Baltic zodiac was a simple copy of the Mediterranean one, it would be of minor interest for the iconography of Baltic constellations, but in the Baltic versions we observe very important differences from the Classical model. In this paper I analyse the relevant traditions in more detail and discuss these differences in the hope that it can offer us valuable information about sky mythology in northern traditions.

Kolyada or koleda (сyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is an ancient pre-Christian winter festival. It was later incorporated into Christmas.
The word is still used in modern Ukrainian (Коляда, Kolyadá), Belarusian (Каляда, Kalada, Kalyada), Russian (Коляда, Kolyada), Polish (Szczodre Gody kolęda), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian (Коледа, Коледе) Lithuanian (Kalėdos, Kalėda) and Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene (koleda). The word used in Old Church Slavonic language (Колѧда) sounds closest to the current Polish language pronunciation, as Polish is the only Slavic language which retains the nasal vowels of the Proto-Slavic language. One theory states that Kolyada is the name of a cycle of winter rituals stemming from the ancient calendae.
Some claim it was named after Kolyada, the Slavic God of winter or Kolyada, the goddess who brings up a new sun every day.

In modern Ukrainian, Russian (kolyada), Czech, Slovak, Croatian (koleda), Kashubian kòlãda, Romanian (colindă) and Polish (kolęda, Old Polish kolenda) the meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas Eve, same in the Balkan Slavs. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is called kolyadovannya in Ukrainian and is now applied to similar Old East Slavic celebrations of other old significant holidays, such as Generous Eve (Belarusian: Шчодры вечар, Щедрий вечiр) the evening before New Year's Day, as well as the celebration of the arrival of spring. Similarly in Bulgaria and Macedonia, in the tradition of koleduvane (коледуване) or koledarenje (коледарење) around Christmas, groups of kids visiting houses, singing carols and receiving a gift at parting. The kids are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who sing kolyadka (songs).

Korochun is a pagan Slavic holiday. It is considered the day when the Black God and other spirits associated with decay and darkness are most potent. The first recorded usage of the term was in 1143, when the author of the Novgorod First Chronicle referred to the winter solstice as «Korochun».

It was celebrated by pagan Slavs on December 21 the longest night of the year and the night of the winter solstice. On this night, Hors, symbolizing the old sun, becomes smaller as the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and dies on December 22, the winter solstice. It is said to be defeated by the dark and evil powers of the Black God. On December 23 Hors is resurrected and becomes the new sun, Koleda.

Modern scholars tend to associate this holiday with the ancestor worship. On this day Western Slavs lit fires at cemeteries to keep their loved ones warm, and organized feasts to honor the dead and keep them fed. They also lit wooden logs at local crossroads. In some Slavic languages, the word came to denote unexpected death of a young person and the evil spirit that shortens life.