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summer solstice

The Summer Solstice

The workings of this planet and its movement within the universe have always been a mystery to me. Countless times I’ve tried to wrap my mind around the significance of the Earth’s axis and annual revolution around the sun. I know this gives us years and, in many parts of the world, the 4 seasons, but beyond that it begins to baffle me.

Astronomical Seasons

Four important astronomical dates in the year are the Summer and Winter Solstices and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes. Perhaps some give them a polite nod of acknowledgment, but for most people they pass unnoticed. These dates mark, among other things, the first day of their respective seasons.

Science Museum Group. Astronomical Diagram. The seasons and signs of the zodiac. P. 1985-1580/31Science Museum Group Collection Online. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co489216/astronomical-diagram-the-seasons-and-signs-of-the-zodiac-p-diagram

As a child I remember the first day of summer filling me with excitement because of the possibility that the months ahead held. Now that I live in the UK, I find the day brings with it a hint of sadness. Spring has ended, Springwatch is over, and the days are now slowly getting shorter. In essence, I start to feel like the summer is over before it’s really even begun.

Have I truly become that grumpy adult who grieves the things which haven’t been lost? Who forgets the beauty of the moment opting instead to lament what’s to come? I certainly hope not. I spend way too much time practicing mindfulness to be drawn into that.

Courtesy of University of Glasgow

What Is The Summer Solstice?

In its very simplest definition, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. In Norwich the day has nearly 17 hours of daylight – in Bloomington it’s about 15 hours. Before moving to the UK, I hadn’t thought about the effect that moving 12.4 degrees farther north would have on my sense of time and how it passes. It turns out it’s rather disorienting. I don’t mind the 2 extra hours of sunlight in the summer, but the missing 2 hours in the winter make for excruciatingly short 7.5 hour days.

Adjusting to the UK Summer

But this is about summer, not winter. Even while writing this I have to remind myself that the summer is only beginning – I won’t even start to notice the shortening days until August. In the UK, from the 17th of May until the 26th of July there is no true night, only twilight. Although we aren’t quite the land of the midnight sun, we aren’t very far off. Interestingly enough, this is why we can hear “blackbirds singing in the dead of night”. As one of the earliest avian risers, they get a little confused about when their day should start and they often end up singing well before dawn.

I understand their confusion. There were many mornings during my first UK summer which began with me being startled awake by shrieking gulls. That in itself is unsettling enough for a woman who grew up 13 hours from the nearest coastline. After realizing I was hearing birds and not a dying child, I would notice the sun shining brightly and immediately my heart would race with fear that I’d overslept. Fortunately, it only took a swift glance at the clock to see that it was only 4:30am. That hasn’t happened this year. I suppose that means my subconscious has adjusted to my new latitudinal location, something I didn’t even know would require acclimation.

Celebrating the Summer Solstice

The significance of the Summer Solstice goes beyond science and being inconvenienced at night by the lack of darkness. There is some evidence that people have been celebrating this astronomical event for millennia. Around the world there are festivals on this day to celebrate growth, life, and fertility. One of the most famous summer solstice celebrations is held in the UK at Stonehenge. Every year between 10,000 and 30,000 people gather together and stay up all night awaiting the rising of the sun. Once the sun rises, its rays of light line up with the Heel Stone and shine perfectly into the center of Stonehenge.

It is, of course, an important celebration, but since the renovation of the site, it is also one of the only times anyone is allowed up close to the stones. Winter Solstice is the other exception. In an effort to protect them from any damage, during the rest of the year visitors have to admire the stones from a distance.

Summer Solstice 2020

This year, due to coronavirus, there won’t be a festival at Stonehenge. Instead English Heritage are streaming the sunset and sunrise live on Facebook which means you can get the best views of the event online, from home, anywhere in the world. Lucky us!

English Heritage will be broadcasting the sunset on Saturday 20th June and the sunrise on Sunday 21st June. Sunset is at 21:26 BST (20:26 GMT) and sunrise is at 04:52 BST (03:52 GMT). For my friends and family in the States, the Stonehenge broadcast for both will be on Saturday June 20th at 16:26 EST and 23:52 EST. They have announced that they will begin streaming at least 30 minutes beforehand and you can get reminders by responding to the event on Facebook here.

If you’re looking for a way to extend your Juneteenth celebrations (because we should all be celebrating Juneteenth in one way or another) consider checking out the live stream of the Summer Solstice from Stonehenge. Someday I really must make it there in person… maybe next year?

Further Reading

To learn more about the history and alignment of the stones, check out this article from English Heritage: Understanding Stonehenge.


About Author

Rachel is the creator of Anywayward. She is an international nurse, American expat, and travel enthusiast. She spends her time drinking too much coffee and thinking of ways to help other American nurses find their way to the UK.

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