Why is today the longest day of the year? Explaining summer solstice
Recognized as a day of extra sunlight that ushers in warmer weather to come, the solstice is also celebrated in multiple cultures and religions. It marks the start of the Pagan holiday Litha, also known as Midsummer, which is famously celebrated at the ancient Stonehenge ruins in Wiltshire, England, where many gather to herald the season.
Here's what to know about the solstice.
What is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere will greet winter with its winter solstice.
When is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice will take place on Friday, June 20, at 10:42 p.m. ET, according to Space.com. The solstice itself only lasts moments, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
The date of the summer solstice can fall at any point between June 20 and June 22, depending on the year.
Why is the summer solstice the longest day of the year?
During the summer solstice, the Earth's tilt brings our planet's northernmost point closer to the sun, resulting in more hours of sunlight and fewer hours of night.
"The Northern Hemisphere's tilt toward the Sun is greatest on this day," according to NASA. "This means the Sun travels its longest, highest arc across the sky all year for those north of the equator."
Solstice marks time of celebration for some
Several locations around the world are particularly known for celebrating the solstice, including Newgrange in Ireland. Solstices are often associated with pagan religions and draw revelers of different faiths.
Pagans come by the thousands to Stonehenge, the prehistoric ruins of a monument built between approximately 3100 and 1600 BC in Wiltshire, England. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the U.K., but little is known about the civilization that built it or why, as these ancient peoples left no written records behind.
It was during the 20th century that Stonehenge became a site of religious significance to people who subscribed to New Age beliefs, including Neopaganism and Neo-Druids, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting. When constructed, the stone circle was aligned with the sun, and to this day, thousands of people gather to witness the moment the sun peeks perfectly through its pillars.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Celebrating an everlasting twilight: midsummer, Lithuanian style
Towards dusk a bonfire was lit and, one after another, the friends we were eating and drinking with hurdled the leaping flames, a pagan ritual thought to provide benefits including improved physical and mental strength, prosperity and fertility. Further heat came from a sauna we made using five sacks of logs – too many, we agreed afterwards. When it got too hot, we escaped into the cool shallows of the pond just a few metres away, repeating this cycle several times. As we soak up the long, light days of summer, I'm reminded of this magical time I spent in Lithuania celebrating the summer solstice, or Joninės as it's called there. A suitable translation is Saint John's festival, a public holiday celebrated each year on 23 and 24 June. The name pays homage to John the Baptist and coincides with his feast day, yet the traditions of Joninės are deeply rooted in the pagan celebration of midsummer, predating Christianity. Similar pagan festivals take place in the Baltic nations of Estonia and Latvia, known as Jaanipäev and Jāņi, respectively. It's a time when people travel from the city to gather in the countryside to eat, drink, sing and observe ancient folk traditions relating to fertility, harvest and renewal. I travelled by train from Tallinn to Riga, and on to Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city, to meet my girlfriend, Jūratė. From there, it's a further 50 miles east to just outside Čiobiškis, where we meet Jūratė's extended family – about 80 of them, from newly borns to octogenarians, of which Julė is the elder and true matriarch presiding over the Joninės celebrations. The journey from Čiobiškis to the surrounding countryside requires us to take the small Padaliai-Čiobiškis ferry across the Neris river – travel at its most rustic and serene. This is followed by a short drive through a forest, which brings us to what resembles a bespoke and bijou festival, with family members having travelled from across Lithuania and beyond, all of us laden with copious amounts of food and drink for the two-day celebration. It's beautiful countryside – fairly flat and wooded, full of waterways providing an abundance of blue mixed with the verdant hues of surrounding vegetation, and punctuated with bright, colourful splashes from the many species of wildflower, such as lupin, cornflower, chicory, yarrow and buttercup. We watch the Neris meandering downstream to the right, and two fishermen, Julius and Česiukas, attempting to catch a trout, perch, bream or perhaps salmon for the table. Meanwhile, Jūratė and her friend Eglė collect small posies of wild flowers to weave into flower crowns, symbols of love and fertility, while I rest on the riverbank enjoying this bucolic scene. At the centre of the celebrations, beneath a huge structure created from local timber, tables have been joined together to form one great community banquet, flanked by benches on either side. It's here I taste the intriguing-looking šakotis for the first time – a layered cake resembling a tree, made of butter, eggs, flour, sugar and cream, and cooked on a spit. Its jagged spikes look almost too sharp and angular to eat, but it's delicious. Dishes brought by Jūratė's family include salted herring, chanterelles spread on rye bread, a beef and vegetable stew which is very much to my liking, and a boiled tongue wrapped in smoked pig's ear, which is less so. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion Other delicacies include cepelinai, dumplings made from grated potato, filled with pork mince and served with bacon gravy and either sour cream or mushroom sauce. My favourite is balandėliai, cabbage leaves filled again with pork mince and served with potatoes. It's hearty fare for the longest day of the year, washed down with the exquisite cherry liqueur Žagarės. As another bonfire is lit, everyone gathers around the campfire to tell stories and sing traditional folk songs. It is believed that the brighter the flames, the more abundant the harvest will be. Beer, or alus, is in plentiful supply, but the more pagan among us opt for homemade sidras (cider) or the stronger still samanė (moonshine) all of which helps make camping a little more comfortable. A further ritual begins from midnight: the search for papartis, a fern that, legend has it, produces a magic white flower on midsummer eve. Couples wander into the forest to hunt for this mythical bloom, discovering, perhaps, far more besides. I'm told the most common date that babies are born is 25 March, some nine months later on Gandrinės or Stork Day – with the arrival of the country's national bird signifying the beginning of spring as they return from their winter migration. Yet another name for summer solstice is Rasos, or Dew festival, since it is believed that dew collected on the morning of midsummer is especially potent for fertility, while wild herbs gathered on the night of Joninės are believed to possess magical and healing properties, since this is when nature is at its most powerful. While paying our own dues to some of the ancient traditions, we also do things our own way, combining music from the radio station LRT Opus with further consumption of alus and Žagarės. I'm sure every family and group of friends celebrate differently, but all that really matters is being together, in nature, with skylarks visible high above and cuckoos audible in the woods. The magnificence of Joninės was captured by the Lithuanian poet and philosopher Vydūnas, who described it as the 'feast of the bonfire light meeting the all-encompassing sunlight'. As we make our way a few miles south to the hamlet of Mikalaučiškės for a gathering with some of Jūratė's friends – since Joninės is very much about celebrating with friends as well as bloodlines – I think of those words written by Vydūnas a century ago. Today's bonfire is already burning bright amid an everlasting twilight of deep orange, pink and blue, painted above the horizon. Baltic Gently organises various Joninės packages across Lithuania, from €75 to €130
The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Why is today the longest day of the year? Explaining summer solstice
Recognized as a day of extra sunlight that ushers in warmer weather to come, the solstice is also celebrated in multiple cultures and religions. It marks the start of the Pagan holiday Litha, also known as Midsummer, which is famously celebrated at the ancient Stonehenge ruins in Wiltshire, England, where many gather to herald the season. Here's what to know about the solstice. What is the summer solstice? The summer solstice marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere will greet winter with its winter solstice. When is the summer solstice? The summer solstice will take place on Friday, June 20, at 10:42 p.m. ET, according to The solstice itself only lasts moments, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The date of the summer solstice can fall at any point between June 20 and June 22, depending on the year. Why is the summer solstice the longest day of the year? During the summer solstice, the Earth's tilt brings our planet's northernmost point closer to the sun, resulting in more hours of sunlight and fewer hours of night. "The Northern Hemisphere's tilt toward the Sun is greatest on this day," according to NASA. "This means the Sun travels its longest, highest arc across the sky all year for those north of the equator." Solstice marks time of celebration for some Several locations around the world are particularly known for celebrating the solstice, including Newgrange in Ireland. Solstices are often associated with pagan religions and draw revelers of different faiths. Pagans come by the thousands to Stonehenge, the prehistoric ruins of a monument built between approximately 3100 and 1600 BC in Wiltshire, England. It is one of the most famous landmarks in the U.K., but little is known about the civilization that built it or why, as these ancient peoples left no written records behind. It was during the 20th century that Stonehenge became a site of religious significance to people who subscribed to New Age beliefs, including Neopaganism and Neo-Druids, according to USA TODAY's previous reporting. When constructed, the stone circle was aligned with the sun, and to this day, thousands of people gather to witness the moment the sun peeks perfectly through its pillars.
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
Thousands gather at Stonehenge for summer solstice celebration
Glen Michael Herbert, a woodcarver known as Herbie to his friends, summed up the draw of the summer solstice beautifully. 'It's a spiritual thing that people of all faiths and none can embrace,' he said. 'I think it's about feeling the wheel of the year turning, enjoying the light, appreciating nature. Most of all, coming together.' Herbert was one of the many thousands who had made their way to Wiltshire – he in his faithful van Radagast – to take in midsummer in and around Stonehenge. This one may be the most well attended for years as the solstice dawn takes place on Saturday and the weather is set pretty much perfect to observe the sun rising behind the heel stone – the ancient entrance to the monument from the ceremonial avenue – and watch its rays channel into the centre of the stone circle. There will be tedious practical challenges. National Highways has said the A303 and other roads around the sites will be very busy and urged visitors to use public transport or car share if possible. While English Heritage, which manages the site and offers controlled, free 'open access' to the stones for the solstice, said people would need to use an app to pay for parking. There is a poignancy, too, as it is 40 years since the Battle of the Beanfield, the notorious clash between police and new age travellers. Four decades on, there are still calls for an inquiry into the actions of Wiltshire police as they halted a free solstice festival at Stonehenge. Some still feel the anguish of the experience and do not like the way the 'open access' is policed and limited. Alan Lodge, who was there that day, said: 'They want to put Stonehenge in a glass case but they wouldn't do that with Salisbury Cathedral. People are allowed to go there in their thousands all year round.' English Heritage argues that it needs to strike a balance between opening the site and preserving it, while Wiltshire police say they have learned from what happened in 1985 and are working hard to ensure the solstice celebrations at Stonehenge go smoothly. The practicalities and lingering hurt aside, there was a great deal of joy in the air this week. At the Stonehenge Inn in Durrington, the manager, Dan King, said the pub and the adjacent camping and glamping field were fully booked. 'The combination of the weekend and this weather means it's going to be a busy one,' he said. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Hundreds of people had gathered at the Stonehenge Campsite at Winterbourne Stoke for Solsticefest 25, a four-day celebration involving music, crafts and healing. The site runs bus shuttles to Stonehenge for the solstice. At the campsite, as at the circle on solstice morning, an eclectic mix of people had gathered. Nicky Jasmine, from Manchester, a volunteer at the site, said everyone was welcome. 'We don't judge what people are wearing, we don't judge their beliefs.' There were pagans there, such as Adrian Thompson and Tina Lyons. Thompson, 62, a window blind fitter from Leicester, said the solstice was a chance to 'honour the ancestors' – and make new friends. Chris Richards, a 35-year-old carer from Wolverhampton, said a few drinks and a party was certainly an element of the experience, but he also loved 'cuddling up' with his friends at the circle at dawn. 'Even when it's hot like this, it can get chilly. We get into a ditch; the wind blows over you and the sun rises. It's wonderful. I'll always come here.'
