The significance given to the summer solstice has varied among cultures, but most recognize the event in some way with holidays, festivals, and rituals around that time with themes of religion or fertility. In the southern tip of South https://turbo-tax.org/ America, the Mapuche people celebrate We Tripantu (the New Year) a few days after the northern solstice, on June 24. Further north, the Atacama people formerly celebrated this date with a noise festival, to call the Sun back.
Locations closer to the poles experience larger differences in day length throughout the year, so summer days are longer there. In Toronto, the longest day is just over 15 hours and 26 minutes long; in Miami, roughly 2000 kilometers or 1200 miles farther south, it lasts about 13 hours and 45 minutes. The changes in solar declination become smaller as the Sun gets closer to its maximum/minimum declination. The days before and after the solstice, the declination speed is less than 30 arcseconds per day which is less than 1⁄60 of the angular size of the Sun, or the equivalent to just 2 seconds of right ascension. The solstices (as well as the equinoxes) mark the middle of the seasons in East Asian calendars. Here, the Chinese character 至 means “extreme”, so the terms for the solstices directly signify the summits of summer and winter.
- This was a time when cattle were slaughtered, so they wouldn’t have to be fed during the cold months of winter, so it was one of the few times of the year when meat was in plentiful supply.
- In its association with the magical properties, it was thought that harvesting the blossoms when nude is favorable.
- The summer solstice, also known as estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun.
- The World Heritage Site on Salisbury Plain in southern England has been modified many times over the years, but its sarsen stones, installed around 2500 B.C.E., still align with the sun’s movements.
- Incredibly, the historic stones align perfectly with the movement of the sun.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (20 or 21 June) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (21 or 22 of December).
An observer on Earth therefore sees a solar path that is the result of both rotation and revolution. People light campfires and distribute the ashes equally over their lands. They think it will provide a bountiful crop as well as stave against bad forces.
In areas where the climate was more temperate, the Midwinter Festival would have been the last big feast before winter began. This was a time when cattle were slaughtered, so they wouldn’t have to be fed during the cold months of winter, so it was one of the few times of the year when meat was in plentiful supply. This was also the time when most alcoholic beverages had finally finished their fermentation stage and were ready to be enjoyed by all.
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For that hemisphere, the summer solstice is when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky and is the day with the longest period of daylight. Within the Arctic circle (for the northern hemisphere) or Antarctic circle (for the southern hemisphere), there is continuous daylight around the summer solstice. During the summer solstice, the day is longer and the nights are shorter. The summer solstice or estival solstice[lower-roman 1] occurs when one of Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. For that hemisphere, the summer solstice is the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year, when the Sun is at its highest position in the sky.
Interesting facts about the summer solstice
During this time, the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky and is the day with the longest period of daylight. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs when the path of the sun is farthest south in the sky, which happens on either December 21st or 22nd every year. In the Southern Hemisphere, the solstice occurs when the sun is the furthest north in the sky, which happens around June 20th or 21st. Since the sun travels the shortest path across the dome of the sky on this day, it represents the time when there is the least daylight and the longest night in the hemisphere it’s being observed. The summer solstice—also called midsummer—marks the moment when the North Pole is angled more toward the sun than on any other day of the year, resulting in the longest period of sunlight of the year for the top half of the planet.
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These mark the movement of the Sun along a sidereally fixed zodiac (precession is ignored) into Makara, the zodiacal sign which corresponds with Capricorn, and into Karka, the zodiacal sign which corresponds with Cancer, respectively. On the day of the summer solstice, the Sun will reach its highest and northernmost points of the sky. Estival and festival look so much alike that you might think they’re very closely related, but that isn’t the case.
In the Nordic country, the burning of huge bonfires on the eve of midsummer has long been a solstice ritual. Referencing the time period between the middle of the summer, this celebration predates Christianity and is primarily held close to the summer solstice. Stonehenge in Amesbury, Wiltshire, is the most popular place for Pagans to celebrate the longest day because it famously aligns to the solstices. The rising sun only reaches the middle of the stones one day of the year when it shines on the central altar.
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During the December Solstice, the effects on both hemispheres are just the opposite. This sees polar sea ice re-grow annually due to lack of sunlight on the air above and surrounding sea. The warmest and coldest periods of the year in temperate regions are offset by about one month from the solstices, delayed by the earth’s thermal inertia. The summer solstice or estival solstice[i] occurs when one of Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (20 or 21 June) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (21 or 22 of December). Since prehistory, the summer solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures, and has been marked by festivals and rituals.
On this day, people would exchange gifts and it was one of the most sacred days of the year to some Romans. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might notice the early dawns and late sunsets, and the high arc of the sun across the sky each day. Around the time of the solstice, it’s your shortest noontime shadow of the year. Ancient cultures knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the estival solstice sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. Mnajdra includes three buildings, and on the summer solstice, the first rays of sun light up the edge of a megalith found to the left of the central doorway connecting the first pair of chambers to the inner chambers. While no one knows the site’s full history, it is believed that these are likely intentional placements to align with the longest day of the year.
The Night of San Juan (also referred to as the Bonfires of San Juan) is another solstice tradition based around fire, and is held on the eve of 23 June. The celebrations include musical performances featuring drums and wind instruments, native dances and rituals to honour Pachamama (Mother Earth). The stones were brought from very long distances – the bluestones from the Preseli Hills more than 150 miles away, and the sarsens probably from the Marlborough Downs, 19 miles to the north. Stonehenge always welcomes an influx of garland-wearing hippies, druids and curious tourists who head to the mysterious stone circles and wait for the sun to appear.
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Mugwort expands the psychic influences during this particular moment, which is considered a period for divination if the plant is brewed in a tea. It is also named because the Midsummer Solstice coincides with the celebration of St John’s the Baptist. The herb can be combined with Skullcap, another nervine herb, for pain relief and tension. In India, within the context of Hinduism, the Summer Solstice, or Midsummer’s day, takes place on the 21st of June and is known as the Uttarayana.