Summer solstice is the longest day of the year. A whole 888 minutes with the sunlight. Astronomically the summer begins today, June 21 2017. As of tomorrow, days will steadily start to become shorter again, one minute per day – until the winter solstice in December.
The term “solstice” derives from the Latin word “solstitium”, meaning “sun standing still”. Some prefer the more teutonic term “sunturn” to describe the event.
Astrologers say the sun seems to ‘stand still’ at the point on the horizon where it appears to rise and set, before moving off in the reverse direction.
Meteorologically, summer started on June 1st. However, this June Greece has been frequently struck by rainstorms, hail falls and strong winds. According to meteo forecast, temperatures will rise in the next days, but there will be rainstorms again locally.
Technically speaking, the summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer, or 23.5° north latitude.
So between March and September, Earth’s Northern Hemisphere gets more exposure to direct sunlight over the course of a day. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more.
Pagans have always believed the summer solstice – also known as midsummer as it was the midpoint of the growing season – holds a special power.
One of the first cultures that recorded the occurrence of the solstice was that of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks used the solstice in their astronomical and navigational charts.
Ancient Greeks
The summer solstice, 21 June, is one of the most important dates in the calendar for many followers of ancient religions, and it’s a special time for people in Greece who worship the country’s pre-Christian gods.
According to certain iterations of the Greek calendar—they varied widely by region and era—the summer solstice was the first day of the year. Several festivals were held around this time, including Kronia, which celebrated the agriculture god Cronus. The strict social code was temporarily turned on its head during Kronia, with slaves participating in the merriment as equals or even being served by their masters.
The summer solstice occurred exactly one month before the opening of the original Olympic Games. In addition, many festivals took place on and around the day of the solstice including Prometheia, which celebrated the Titan Prometheus, and Kronia, honoring the agricultural god Cronus. Although the Greek calendar varied depending on the region and time period, for many versions the summer solstice was also the first day of the New Year.
Ancient Romans
In the days leading up to the summer solstice, ancient Romans celebrated the Vestalia festival, which paid tribute to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Rituals included the sacrifice of an unborn calf remove from its mother’s womb. This was the only time of the year when married women were allowed to enter the sacred temple of the vestal virgins and make offerings to Vesta there.
Ancient Chinese
The ancient Chinese participated in a ceremony on the summer solstice to honor the earth, femininity and the force known as yin. It complemented the winter solstice ritual, which was devoted to the heavens, masculinity and yang. Ancient Northern and Central European Tribes Many Germanic, Slavic and Celtic pagans welcomed summer with bonfires, a tradition that is still enjoyed in Germany, Austria, Estonia and other countries. Some ancient tribes practiced a ritual in which couples would jump through the flames to predict how high that year’s crops would grow.