BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Summer Solstice - St John's Day

Each day for six months after the winter solstice, the Sun rises a bit higher in the sky. It reaches the maximum height at the summer solstice, the longest day. Evidence of rituals and festivals at the times of the solstices goes back thousands of years.

Summer Solstice - St John's Day

The astronomical solstice happened at 05.04 UTC (01.04 EDT) on June 21 when the Sun reached its maximum distance from the celestial equator.

For everybody else the whole day was available for a celebration - and on a Friday very convenient for the weekend.

It's Saint Jean Baptiste Day in Quebec, Canada, which is now a general holiday. French settlers brought this midsummer holiday to New France, i.e., Quebec. Bonne fête nationale, Quebec!

And here is a picture of the celebrations in Spain: http://pinterest.com/pin/250090585530527939/

Stonehenge is famously associated with the summer solstice. Here is a very atmospheric photo taken by a friend of mine, photographer Max Alexander: Summer solstice sunrise at Stonehenge.

But there is growing evidence that Stonehenge was more likely oriented to the winter solstice sunset rather than the summer solstice sunrise.

This picture was taken 5 days before this year's summer solstice off the northern coast of Norway. It was one o'clock in the morning. It would have been a great night for a solstice celebration - much better for partying than sleeping! Northern Norway 2013-06-16