It’s a bittersweet time of year when summer is in full swing but you just know that it’s all downhill from here. The Summer Solstice is the longest day – savour it while the light nights last!
Summer and Winter Solstice
The Solstice happens twice a year – when the sun reaches its most northerly or southerly limit relative to the equator. Many countries determine the seasons of the year by the solstices and the equinoxes.
The day when it happens is also known as the Solstice. In our northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice is usually known as the longest day, and the winter one the shortest day. This is because these two days have the most and least daylight. Obviously in the southern hemisphere it would be the other way round!
The word is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”), because at the solstices the Sun appears to “stand still”. In other words the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before appearing to reverse direction.
When is the Longest Day in a Year?
Two solstices occur annually, the winter solstice on 21/22 December and the summer one 21/22 June.
Not to be confused with the Spring and Autumn Equinox – which is when the days and nights are of equal length!
Why can it be on a different day?
The Earth doesn’t take exactly 365 days to make a complete revolution around the Sun – it’s actually about 365.25 days on average to travel round the Sun once. We use the Gregorian Calendar which accounts for it by adding an extra day (February 29) every 4 years. This means that each solstice occurs about 6 hours later than the previous year’s and is why the date can change.
It nearly always falls on June 21, but can also fall on June 20 or June 22 depending on the year and time zone you are in.
Take a look at Wikipedia if you’re interested in the science behind the Solstice.
Change, Beliefs and Significance
Spring is a lovely time as the days get longer until the Summer Solstice. There’s about a month where you don’t really notice a difference in the length of the days. Then they start getting noticeably shorter… The height of summer is a glorious time – with warm nights and long hot days.
Many cultures celebrate various combinations of the winter and summer solstices, the equinoxes, and the midpoints between them. There are various holidays too, arising around these events.
Watching the sunrise or sunset on the day of the summer solstice is considered significant in many cultures. Stretching back centuries through time, special significance has been attached to this time of year.
Stonehenge was built to align with the sun on the solstices. On the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon. Its first rays shine into the heart of Stonehenge. On the winter solstice, the sun sets to the south-west of the stone circle. Spirituality was at the heart of Stonehenge. Neolithic and Bronze Age people put herculean effort into building it. Amazing, especially given the fact that it serves no known practical function.
Especially in Europe, many other ancient monuments are aligned with the sunrise or sunset on the summer solstice.
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