swedeace
06-22-2006, 01:29 AM
June 22nd is officially the first day of summer for the northern hemisphere. It also is midsummer/summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.
In some countries/cultures (Sweden, for instance), there are various celebrations to mark this celebration. It's the peak of the time of the year when we will get the MOST daylight hours of sun. After June 22nd, it will slowly get darker and darker (yeah, how depressing...) until the 21st of December (six months from now).
Check out a definition:
"The Midsummer Solstice refers to the point at which the sun reaches its greatest declination to the south. It marks the beginning of the sun's maximum height in the sky, making it the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice brings Johannisnacht (the birthday of St. John the Baptist), June 24, and it brings Sonnwend (solstice) celebrations and midsummer nights (Shakespeare). The themes of a solstice festival are light and warmth. Pagans used to signify such themes with Midsummer bonfires. Young men and women leaped over the flames. Old wives claimed that the summer's crops would grow as high as the leapers were able to jump."
Here's a midsummer pole I took a picture of in late July 2004 at a west coast island during my trip to Sweden:
In some countries/cultures (Sweden, for instance), there are various celebrations to mark this celebration. It's the peak of the time of the year when we will get the MOST daylight hours of sun. After June 22nd, it will slowly get darker and darker (yeah, how depressing...) until the 21st of December (six months from now).
Check out a definition:
"The Midsummer Solstice refers to the point at which the sun reaches its greatest declination to the south. It marks the beginning of the sun's maximum height in the sky, making it the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice brings Johannisnacht (the birthday of St. John the Baptist), June 24, and it brings Sonnwend (solstice) celebrations and midsummer nights (Shakespeare). The themes of a solstice festival are light and warmth. Pagans used to signify such themes with Midsummer bonfires. Young men and women leaped over the flames. Old wives claimed that the summer's crops would grow as high as the leapers were able to jump."
Here's a midsummer pole I took a picture of in late July 2004 at a west coast island during my trip to Sweden: