The summer solstice is the day we’ve been looking forward to since the end of last December as we became tired of short and obscure days. Also called the “Estival Solstice” or “Midsummer”, it happens naturally when one of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt, some 23.44° toward the Sun.
Within the Arctic circle (for the Northern hemisphere) or Antarctic circle (for the Southern), there is continuous daylight around the summer solstice. Obviously, the winter solstice and it also happens today everywhere “down under” and in December it will be their turn for the summer version.
So, today, just enjoy the longest period of daylight and the shortest night of the year! In fact, the celebration of the solstices is mostly strongly associated with Paganism.
According to Pagan folklore, evil spirits in particular may walk the earth more freely at this time, and in order to ward them off, people wear protective garlands of herbs and flowers.
Other Summer Solstice traditions surround the ashes from a midsummer bonfire. ‘Sunwheels’ were also used to celebrate midsummer in some communities, with a wheel or ball of straw lit on fire and rolled down a hill into a river. It was believed that if the fire went out before hitting the water then a good harvest was guaranteed.
As you can see, since prehistoric times, the summer solstice has been celebrated in many cultures. The rites vary a lot in their nature and philosophy. In Park City for instance, we already start thinking about snow and skiing even though there’s still plenty of white stuff left on ridge lines this season!
This year I plan to enjoy a short summer that has been ushered in by unprecedented rain and cold weather. Let’s keep the pole tilted south for as long as we can!
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