Summer solstice

The summer solstice is a special event in Earth's yearly journey around the Sun. It happens when one of Earth's poles is tilted the most toward the Sun. There are two summer solstices each year, one in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). During the summer solstice, that part of Earth has the longest day of the year, with the most hours of daylight and the shortest night. The sun also reaches its highest point in the sky that day.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice happens in June, usually on the 20th or 21st. In the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs in December, typically on the 21st or 22nd. Many cultures have celebrated this event for thousands of years, often with special festivals and rituals. In cooler parts of the world, especially in Europe, the summer solstice is sometimes called "midsummer", even though it marks the beginning of summer in some places today.

During the summer solstice, Earth's tilt toward the Sun is at its greatest, about 23.44 degrees. This also means the Sun's path across the sky is at its highest point above the horizon. Even though the solstice is the longest day, the exact dates for the earliest sunrise and latest sunset can vary by a few days because Earth's orbit around the Sun is not a perfect circle.

Culture

Main article: Midsummer

The summer solstice has been important in many cultures for a very long time. Ancient buildings in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas are often built to line up with the sun on this special day. Many cultures celebrate the summer solstice with holidays, festivals, and rituals, often focusing on ideas about growth and new beginnings.

In the old Roman calendar, the summer solstice was on June 24. Later, the Christian Church set the spring equinox to March 21, which moved the solstice to June 20. In many parts of Europe, the summer solstice is still seen as the middle of summer. In Sweden, it is a big holiday, almost like Christmas. Many places have special traditions and festivals to mark this day.

Observances

Traditional festivals

• Saint John's Eve (Europe), including:

  • Golowan (Cornwall)
  • Jaanipäev (Estonia)
  • Jāņi (Latvia)
  • Joninės (Lithuania)
  • Jónsmessa (Iceland)
  • Juhannus (Finland)

• Kupala Night (Slavic peoples)

• Shën Gjini–Shën Gjoni, Festa e Malit/Bjeshkës, Festa e Blegtorisë, etc. (Albanians)

• Summer Solstice at Stonehenge United Kingdom

• Tiregān (Iran)

• Xiazhi (China)

• Yhyakh (Yakuts)

Modern observances

• Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland)
• Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day
• Fremont Solstice Parade (Fremont, Seattle, Washington, United States)
• International Yoga Day
• National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada)
• Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade (Santa Barbara, California, United States)

In folk music

• "Oh at Ivan, oh at Kupala" (Ukr. Ой на Івана, ой на Купала) - Ukrainian folk song.
• "Kupalinka" - (Belar. Купалінка) - Belarusian folk song
• "There is a lake behind the hill" (Lith. Už kalnelio ežerėlis) - Lithuanian folk song.

Length of the day on northern summer solstice

The following tables show how long the day was on June 20, 2016, close to the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The information comes from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and other websites.

The tables are arranged from the longest day to the shortest day, and times that go into the next day (June 21) are marked with ⁺.

The length of daylight gets longer as you move from the equator toward the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere during June (around the summer solstice). In the Southern Hemisphere, the daylight gets shorter as you move toward the South Pole during their winter solstice.