June 21: The Summer Solstice

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is just a moment in time. It’s when the Earth’s axial tilt is at 23 degrees 26 minutes and the Sun is in the sign of Cancer. 

The word “solstice” is derived from root words that mean “stoppage”  or “stand.” The Sun appears to stand still in the sky when it reaches its maximum distance north of the celestial equator. 

June 21 is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight and is known as Midsummer. Originally a Pagan holiday, Midsummer is a time of fertility. 

It was believed that mid-summer plants like Calendula (Marigolds) had healing powers and they were picked on this night. Bright yellow marigolds look like small representations of the Sun.

Bonfires will be lit through out many nations, especially in Nordic countries like Sweden, on Midsummer’s Eve. Traditionally, the bonfire (another representation of the Sun) was meant to “wake up” the ground to make the fields fertile for another season. 

In Austria, a procession of ships will make their way down the Danube River while fireworks erupt from the banks and hill tops and bonfires blaze, lighting the vineyards of the wine-growing Wachau Valley.

In Denmark, the solstice has been celebrated since the time of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward off evil spirits. 

In Poland, young girls and women will dress in white wearing wreaths of yellow and white wildflowers on their heads. They will set candled wreaths afloat in rivers in hopes that young man will find the wreaths while fishing and fall in love with them. The rite is known as “Rzucanie Wiankow” (throwing of the wreaths)...much like brides who toss their bouquets to their unmarried friends.

It’s no accident that June marks the beginning of “wedding season” in our modern culture. 

The New York City Swedish Midsummer celebration has been celebrated in Battery Park City in lower Manhattan since 1996. 

The Seattle neighborhood of Fremont puts on a large Summer Solstice Parade and Pageant.  

Santa Barbara has hosted an annual Summer Solstice celebration since 1974 with a festival and a parade. 

Tucson will host its first every Earthwalk Solstice celebration his event features a walk through a giant labyrinth, musicians, healers and a ceremony. 

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the large number of Finnish and northern European descendants will light a beachfront bonfire.

Celebrations will be held June 21 through June 24. Then we begin to ease into shorter days and we slowly slide southward into Autumn and Winter.