Tuesday marked the first day of summer, as well as the longest day and shortest night of the year — the summer solstice.
On June 21 at noon, the sun appeared at its closest point overhead for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Earth’s orbit angles this area of the world closest to the sun each year at the summer solstice, resulting in the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year.
Technically, the celestial event is just a moment rather than an entire day, with the sun aligning itself directly above the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees north in latitude at 9:58 a.m. on June 21.
Yet many cultures both historic and modern have celebrated the summer solstice as a day-long affair.
“The significance of the summer solstice to ancient cultures had many aspects, including calendaring, crop planting and agriculture, moving their camp or housing location for nomadic peoples, and annual cultural ceremonies,” explained the University of San Francisco professor of physics and astronomy Aparna Venkatesan, according to NBC 5.
In Ancient Greece, the summer solstice was marked by a festival for Kronos, the god of agriculture. Their successors the Romans held a festival for the hearth goddess Vesta (Hestia for the Greeks).
While the details of most ancient civilizations’ celebrations remain largely a mystery, some have found their way into contemporary practices of honoring the day with feasts, bonfires, dances, and more.
One popular modern-day celebration of the summer solstice is Midsummer in Sweden. Over the course of three days, Swedes gather in the countryside to feast, drink, dance, and sing around the Maypole bedecked with wreaths made of freshly picked flowers.
Many of Midsummer’s practices and superstitions originate from pagan traditions.
For instance, it is said that an unmarried woman will dream of her future husband if she places seven different flowers under her pillow the night before Midsummer Day.
Some summer solstice traditions are much newer.
Since 2003, thousands of yoga enthusiasts have made the annual journey to New York City’s Times Square to participate in a free yoga fest called Solstice in Times Square: Mind Over Madness Yoga.
Whether celebrated as a quiet appreciation of the sun at its highest point or a raucous celebration filled with music and dance, the summer solstice marks the astrological start of summer. But it is by no means the hottest time of the year.
Peak summer temperatures typically occur one month after the summer solstice, despite the days growing increasingly shorter from June 21 onward.
For those living in North Texas and experiencing oppressively hot temperatures, this might come as unwelcome news.
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth has predicted temperatures as high as 101 degrees across the metroplex for the remainder of the week.
