For those living north of the equator, Friday, June 21 is the day with the longest day and shortest night in 2019, which is known as the beginning or middle of summer, depending on your home country.
Just one big day is enough to put a smile on many faces.
But the annual celebration also reminds us of the traditions and values of our ancient ancestors, that the Earth orbits the Sun on a tilted axis, which means that the northern hemisphere of the planet gets more direct sunlight between March and September, while the southern hemisphere gets more sunlight for the rest of the year.
The length of the day varies throughout the year, and these variations create the seasons.
The world's "to day" comes from the Latin words "sun" and "sestert" (to stand still).
The day in the northern hemisphere that receives the most sunlight each year occurs on June 20th, 21st or 22nd.
The day of sunshine is known as the summer solstice, and it was a key moment for many prehistoric and ancient human groups.
Generally, their solstice celebrations are thought to have included a mixture of singing, dancing, feasting, bonfires, and rituals that were often associated with increasing fertility.
In Ireland, the huge Stone Age megalithic monument known as Newglen, the fortress of Sacsayhuaman in Peru's Puente Roque, the hieroglyphics of Texas.
Of course, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, is the most famous solstice site, and it is just a few of the archaeological sites that demonstrate the ancient people's interest in the sun and the changing seasons.
As interest in archaeoastronomy has grown, many other sites around the world have been tentatively linked to solstices and equinoxes.
The first traditional solstice event we will explore is the Midsummer Festival.
This event has different aspects in Scandinavian countries, but is often associated with fertility traditions.
For example, the maypole, considered by some to be a symbol of ***, is decorated and stood up and then danced.
Festivals have a romantic atmosphere, people get together and dance around the maypole, and parties with lots of feasting (and alcohol) are popular events.
(Pixabay License) Unmarried Swedes and Norwegian girls used to take advantage of the "magic" of the summer solstice by collecting a mixture of summer flowers and herbs at dawn (when medicines and magical properties were considered the most potent) and placing them under their pillows to see if they would dream of their future spouses. future spouse .
It is believed that eating really salty food can have the same effect.
Romanian girls, on the other hand, perform the romantic ritual of the dr.gaica, in which young girls dance around a girl dressed as a bride.
Bonfires have long been associated with deterring evil spirits and witches and other malevolent creatures.
On Broken Hill in Denmark, a traditional Hawaiian bonfire with straw and cloth witches is burned at the summer solstice to "keep the witches away".
Some people traditionally use bonfires to ward off evil spirits and protect their harvest.
In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is an event celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, placing it near the summer solstice, and many people associate the two.
In fact, the difference between the lunar and Gregorian calendars means that it is only really close to the solstice every three years, and the famous Dragon Boat Festival has evolved from traditionally honoring the river dragon to commemorating the death of the Chinese poet and minister Qu Yuan (340-278 BC) who died when he killed himself by throwing a stone in a river.
The most popular activities of this festival are eating zongzi, drinking xionghuang wine, and racing dragon boats.
(flytoskyft11/Adobe Stock), but it's an interesting family tradition to associate this holiday with the sun by making eggs stand up at some point between 11am and 1pm for good luck in the coming year.
The Chinese Calendar of Fortune explains that in Eastern Europe on the summer solstice, love is also in the air.
The longest day of the year with Ivan Kupala.
"Kupala" has the same root as the word "cupid", and this holiday has traditionally had a romantic attraction for people of Slavic origin.
In Poland, for example, it used to be believed that this was the best day to fall in love or celebrate love if a couple wanted to remain happy and prosperous for the rest of the year.
It was also believed that couples jumping over bonfires holding hands would have a long-lasting love affair, and single women traditionally made wreaths on this day and floated them down the river.
Young single men try to catch the wreaths, and Polish folklore says that the man who catches the wreath becomes the lover of the woman who made it for a summer.
(elinke/Adobe Stock) The main features of the Iranian Tilgan Festival are dancing, reading poetry, splashing water, and eating traditional foods such as spinach soup and saffron rice pudding.
People also like to tie rainbow-colored bands around their wrists for 10 days and then throw them into the water, or traditionally "give them to the god of the winds," as in the Dragon Boat Festival, which only occurs near the summer solstice.
In this case, the holiday is July 3rd, 4th or 5th.
This summer holiday is different from most others because it focuses more on the rain than the sun.
The idea may still be rooted in the idea of having fertile land, but the ancient Persians seem to have been more concerned with bringing sunny rains at this time of year.
Tirgān was dedicated to two men: an archangel named Tishtela who could provide them with thunder and rain, and the legendary archer Arash who is said to have resolved the border dispute between Iran and Turan.
The archer's actions caused a great celebration, and it is said that rain and peace were then desperately needed between Iran and Turan, and that the statue of Arash the Archer is in Sa'dābād palace. (Sa 3.0, Wooerfara 3661/CC) The story of Arash continues with the Rainbow Band, which is said to represent the sky, the rainbow, and the wind, elements that help the archer's arrows fly farther.
By wrapping the bands around your wrists and then wrapping them around you, you are believed to symbolize the act of shooting an arrow from a bow.
Yet another summer birth control ritual was the Critonas ceremony that took place on that day in Greece.
Although the country has largely adopted the Christian festival of St. John's Day, like many other European countries, some of the old pagan traditions still persist, but the Kridonas is an ancient ritual that involves virgins fetching water from the sea, and unmarried women placing their personal belongings in jugs of water.
This pot of water was placed under a fig tree overnight, like the flowers and herbs of the Scandinavians, and the women were said to dream of their future spouses.
The next day, they took their possessions out of the pot and traditionally recited rhyming couplets to predict their romantic futures.
Today, the custom has changed, and the rhymes have generally become dirty jokes.
A Young Greek Woman (1829) Henry William Pickersgill.
(Public Domain) Later, young men and women will meet and take a tumble jumping bonfire for good luck.
Local legend says that anyone who succeeds in jumping over the flames three times can have a wish.
Last but not least on the list of our famous summer solstice celebrations is the Giant Caravan.
With around 20,000 people able to attend each year, the Giant Caravan is one of the most popular places in the world to celebrate the summer solstice.
Many people arrive the night before to watch the awe-inspiring moment when the sun rises just above the heel of the stones, illuminating the center of the altar as it passes through Stonehenge.
(andrewmroland/Adobe Stock) What happens next depends on the reason for being there.
For many, the stunning sunrise starts celebrations and parties, enjoying life and setting the mood for the upcoming Glastonbury Festival.
But for others, especially Neo-Pagans and Neo-Druids, there is a more spiritual connotation.
Some celebrated the Sun and Earth and the union of man and woman with fertility rites.
Others focus on honoring nature, or the elements of water and fire.
What a solstice sunrise might look like in a full-on megalithic array.
(NASA) There are many summer events that take place around the world each year that don't directly refer to the solstice, but retain many of the old themes - such as protecting the environment to protect the planet (and often honoring it in an unspiritual way).
, music and art festivals are also popular ways to celebrate creativity.
Family reunions, weddings, fairs, parties, or gala events provide an avenue for celebrating age-old celebrations of togetherness, love, and life.
Finally, the United Nations General Assembly has designated the summer solstice as International Yoga Day.
I'm definitely doing sun salutations today! Above: Summer Solstice sunrise in Utah.
I must do the sun salutation today!