Graham Jones wrote:
What does midsummer actually mean?

Surely it can't mean the middle of summer as my calendar says the 21st
is the official start of summer. So where has this come from?

This is the perennial question. There is no straight answer. In terms
of the calendar I suppose June 21st is midsummer. Most British people
take summer to be the months of June, July and August, symmetrically
bracketing the statistically warmest part of the year. The Americans
consider June 21st to be the start of summer, and as they would say -
your mileage may vary.

Martin



Graham