Happy Summer Solstice....Whatever That Is....

Happy first day of Summer, or as they call it, Happy Summer Solstice.  If you’re the curious sort like me, you want to know exactly what that means.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Summer in the Northern Hemisphere officially arrived today, Tuesday, June 21 at 1:16 p.m. EDT: the June solstice. At the same time, Winter officially begins for the Southern Hemisphere.

At that moment, the sun reaches the point where it is farthest north of the
celestial equator. To be more precise, when the Summer Solstice occurs, the sun will appear to be shining directly overhead at a point on the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north) in the Great Bahama Bank, roughly halfway between Andros Island and central Cuba.

Mistakenly thought of as the “longest day of the year,” the earliest sunrise and latest sunset do not actually coincide with the Summer solstice. For mid-northern latitudes, the earliest sunrise actually occurred on June 14, while the latest sunset is not due until June 27.

For some, the Summer Solstice is cause for celebration.  Camping at Stonehenge has become an annual festival. The massive stone monuments in England are known for their particular alignments when the Summer solstice occurs. As the sun rises and sets on the longest day of the year, the sun appears on the horizon at precise points in the stone circle. Celebrants who camp in the days before the Summer solstice wake up before sunrise and often sing and dance to welcome the sun.

In California, the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade happens June 25 with the festivities culminating at noon as the parade makes its way through the
city. More locally, the Socrates Sculpture Park in New York City hosts the 2011 Summer Solstice Celebration from 5 p.m. to sunset today.

However you choose to spend it, have a happy Summer Solstice!