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Summer Solstice :: The First Day of Summer

Building sand castles is great fun on the first day of summer.

Summer Solstice

Summer solstice is the first day of summer - it's usually between June 20th to June 23rd. In 2008, the summer solstice takes place on June 20th at 11:59PM GMT. We know it's summer because the earth's axis tilts towards the sun from June to September - this means warmer weather and longer days. For people who live in the Southern Hemisphere, (basically the other side of the world from North America), they will have colder weather and shorter days.

Longest Day

Summer solstice is the longest day of the year. This doesn't mean our day has more than 24 hours in it - we just have more sunlight than any other day. On the summer solstice we get between 15 and 20 hours of sunlight, depending on where you're located in the world. This occasion is also called Midsummer because it is almost in the middle of the growing season throughout most of Europe.

Ancient Celebrations

Ancient Rome - Bring out the food! The Festival of Vestalia went on from June 7th to June 15th in preparation for summer. It was held in honor of the Roman goddess of the hearth, Vesta. Married women were allowed to enter the Vesta shrine during this festival. Normally, only virgins were allowed inside.

Ancient Sweden - In each town a tree was set up and villagers danced around the Midsummer tree. Women and girls gave up their bathtubs and washed in the local river instead. This ritual was supposed to be magical and bring rain for the crops.

Native Americans - The Natchez tribe in the southern US worshipped the sun because they believed their ruler came from it. Every summer they had a fruit festival. Nobody was allowed to harvest any corn until after the feast.