Summer Solstice - Summer Begins!

When is it?

Sunrise is around 04.20 on Wednesday 21 June 2017 - also known as the longest day and the first day of summer.

What is it?

'Solstice' comes from the Latin, 'solstitium', sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) meaning the stopping or standing still of the sun and marks the first day of summer.

It is the time when the earth in the northern hemisphere is nearest towards the sun and so gets the most daylight of the year.

The winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year with the least hours of daylight, usually happens on or around 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere.

Solstices are opposite on either side of the equator, so the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

Why celebrate it?

Hundreds, if not thousands of people often flock to the ancient site of Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice, as Stonehenge has been a prehistoric site of worship and celebration for thousands of years.

At the summer solstice the sun rises directly above the Heel Stone which stands outside the circle of stones to the north-east.

It is said that the giant stones of Stonehenge were so positioned to align with the sunrise on the two annual solstices.
.


.