What Is the Summer Solstice? An Overview of the Longest Day of the Year
Key Highlights :
Today marks the summer solstice in the UK - the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year. The celebration marks the return of brighter evenings and is a time of ancient festivities. But what exactly is the summer solstice? This article provides an overview of the astronomical event, its significance and how it is celebrated around the world.
The summer solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere and is the moment when the sun's path stops moving northward in the sky. This is due to the Earth's tilt towards the sun, which is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. On the same day in the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs when the Earth's axis is tilted furthest away from the sun.
The term ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin word ‘solstitium’, meaning ‘sun standing still’. This is because astrologers say the sun appears to ‘stand still’ at the point on the horizon where it appears to rise and set, before moving off in the reverse direction.
In the UK in 2023, the summer solstice takes place on Wednesday, June 21 at 3.58pm. On this day, the sun will rise at around 4.44am and set around 9.20pm, giving around 8 hours, 50 minutes of daylight. Despite being the longest day of the year, the summer solstice isn't actually have the earliest sunrise of the year. Generally, the earliest sunrises of the year occur before the summer solstice.
The summer solstice is associated with a number of ancient celebrations. People used the day to organize calendars and farmers marked the day with sowing or harvesting of crops. The prehistoric monument Stonehenge in England is evidence of humans using June Solstice as a way of setting the time of the year. Even now, tourists and locals visit Stonehenge to watch the sunrise on Summer Solstice.
In ancient China, the Summer Solstice was observed by a ceremony to celebrate the Earth, femininity, and the 'yin' forces. In Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, Summer Solstice is a time of midsummer night festivities. People dance around the Maypoles and bonfires, and homes are lit up and decorated with violets and vanilla flowers.
So, today marks the summer solstice - the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year. The celebration marks the return of brighter evenings and is a time of ancient festivities. It is a time to enjoy the sun and take part in the festivities around the world.
