The longest day for some and the shortest for others.
When: June 20th / 21st every year.
Where: Worldwide.
The June Solstice is the the longest day for some and the shortest day for others. For anyone north of the Arctic Circle that means 24 hours of daylight and for anyone south of the Antarctic Circle that means 24 hours of darkness!
On the equator no one will notice much as they have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of darkness all year round.
Druids celebrated the Summer Solstice as the wedding of Heaven and Earth. The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer by dancing round and leaping over bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. Pagans called the Midsummer moon the “Honey Moon” as they drank mead (made from fermented honey) at Summer Solstice wedding ceremonies. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.
There are many stone sites in the world that are aligned to the Sun’s yearly travel and at the great stone circle, Stonehenge, England, many gather to watch the sun as the sun rises over the heel stone on this day.
Travel
Travel to St Petersburg in Russia to experience the “White Nights” (from mid ’til end June) or to the world famous Stonehenge for summer solstice. www.stonehenge.co.uk/
Book flights and hotels with ebookers.com, or complete package holidays with Kuoni.
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Summer Solstice Sunrise Stonehenge by aston5man, on Flickr
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