The summer solstice occurs at the moment when the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation in the direction of the Sun takes on the smallest value.
It is more obvious to those living at high latitudes that the summer solstice falls on the longest day and shortest night of the year, when the height of the sun's rise in the sky is at its highest. Since the summer solstice lasts only a brief moment in time, other names are used for the day when the summer solstice occurs, for example: "midsummer", "longest day" or "first day of summer".
Depending on the calendar shift, the summer solstice occurs on June 20 or 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and on December 21 or 22 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Summer Solstice 2018: what date
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, lasting 17 hours and 33 minutes.
Usually this day falls on June 21, and only in leap years - on the 20th of the same month. So, in 2018, this event will take place on June 21 at 13:07 Moscow time.
But why exactly the solstice? The fact is that on June 21, an ordinary observer gets the impression that the Sun seems to freeze at its zenith and does not move anywhere throughout the day.
The longest day of the year 2018, how long does it last, date
The Summer Solstice is the longest sunny day of the year. As a rule, it falls on June 21, and in leap years a day earlier - on June 20. And since 2018 is not a leap year, this year the longest day falls on the 21st of this month.
The name solstice arose because people who observe the Sun on this day see a picture of a star frozen on the horizon. Another name for the Solstice is the Solstice, also on this day it is customary to celebrate a folk holiday associated with these phenomena and there are traditions.
History of the Summer Solstice
In the times of paganism in Russia, the summer solstice was considered one of the main holidays. Our ancestors treated the Sun with respectable awe, so they tried to pay tribute to its strength, power and undeniable power. They sacrificed precious items, handmade souvenirs, as well as the best individual from the entire litter of livestock.
Our ancestors believed that if on the Day of the summer solstice, which fell on June 21 in 2018, to engage in magical rites and rituals, then you can change your fate for the better. It was believed that the more esoteric manipulations and fortune-telling a person conducts, the calmer and more prosperous his personal life will be throughout the year. That is why the villagers gathered all together, laid long tables in the field, sang songs, danced by the fire and jumped over the fires. The final end of the holiday was a general fortune-telling using wreaths of flowers, which were subsequently allowed along the river.
Astronomical Meaning of the Summer Solstice
The day of the summer solstice received such a name for a reason. The thing is that astronomers noticed that in the period from June 19 to June 22, the Sun literally stands still, practically without deviating from its location. On June 21, it is at the maximum distance from the celestial equator, so the scientific term "solstice" began to be used on this day.
On this day, the level of solar activity increases, so scientists often warn of upcoming magnetic storms and an increase in atmospheric pressure, which adversely affect the health of many people. To protect yourself from sunstroke or feeling unwell, on June 21, 2018, it is not recommended to relax under the open sky until 17:00. After this time, the activity of the Sun will subside a little, and you will be able to comfortably enjoy the fresh air and nature without a headache.
Traditions and folk signs of the holiday of the Summer Solstice
The summer solstice in 2018 will come on June 21, during the Petrovsky fast, if we take into account the calendar of Orthodox holidays. Many people adhere to Christian traditions, so they try to completely abandon the consumption of meat and dairy products during this period. From time immemorial, a tradition has been established to set the table on the Day of the summer solstice from everything that has grown this year under the sun. These products include:
- Flower honey, symbolizing the power of the Sun;
- Early herbs - parsley, all varieties of lettuce, dill, green onions and basil;
- Vegetables - new potatoes, carrots, pear;
- Berries and fruits, including forest varieties of blueberries and strawberries.
It is believed that such food is saturated with solar energy, which on the Day of the summer solstice will help a person get rid of diseases.
One of the most important traditions on the Day of the summer solstice was considered to be bathing in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. If you delve into pagan beliefs, then it is on the shortest summer night that mermaids and mermen sleep in their backwaters, without preventing people from paying tribute to the power of the solar disk. It is believed that a person who bathes in the river on the solstice day or night will gain strength and prolong his life for several years.
Since the Sun is closely associated with fire, it was customary to kindle bonfires on the Summer Solstice. This was not done by chance. Our ancestors believed that at this time the fire acquires magical power that can cleanse people's houses of evil spirits, bad energy and damage. Until now, the tradition has been preserved to light a wax candle in your home, walk with it several circles around the apartment in the direction of the clock hands, and then leave it in a candlestick in the main room so that the candle burns to the ground.
Conspiracy to fulfill a wish on the Summer Solstice
A very powerful ritual has come down to our time, which is usually performed on the shortest night of the year. To do this, go out into the forest or field, pick the most beautiful flowers that will come across on the way, and then sit in a secluded place and start weaving a wreath. At this moment, you need to make your most secret desire and read the plot: “Oh, you are noisy rivers, violent winds, endless fields. Look at me, the servant of God (your name), tired. Convey my request to the Heavenly Light, ask for me, but do not be angry. The sun will circle the whole earth, but my desire will be fulfilled. So carry him over seven mountains, on an eagle or on a falcon, so that the Sun can hear. When the sunset comes, you calm down, do not wake the sleeper, do not disturb me. She said the word, she did the deed. So be it, reports Therussiantimes. Amen". After that, the wreath had to be taken to the river and released. It was believed that after 40 days the cherished desire should come true.
For many pre-Christian millennia, our ancestors honored the Sun as the highest divine power that gives life to the whole Earth. Unfortunately, the former deep meaning of the unity of man and all nature with the great heavenly universe has not reached us, but intuitively deep down we continue to feel this unity. All the holidays of Mithraism - the cult of veneration of the Sun - were dedicated to the Sun. And the dates of these holidays have passed into the current Christian holidays.
So, for example, the day of the summer solstice, celebrated earlier as Kupala, is now celebrated later, as the day of Ivan Kupala. Ivan Kupala, unlike the real Kupala holiday, is not timed to coincide with the solstice on June 21, but is celebrated on the date of birth of John the Baptist on July 7. Celebrate July 7 Kupala according to ancient traditions doesn't make any sense as the solstice is long gone. Our ancestors celebrated it exactly at the solstice, on the longest day and the shortest night of the year - the Night on the eve of Kupala.
For more than one millennium, this day has been of incredible importance in the religions of many peoples, as the day of the highest solar energy, the apogee of the dominance of light over darkness. The tradition of rolling wheels and kindling fires has been spread throughout the world and is found in historical sources. North West Africa, Japan, australia and even Brazil. AT Iran one can still observe the winter Zoroastrian festival of Zalda with night vigils and bonfires to dispel darkness, similar festivities are found in Tibet and Muslim northwestern India. This indicates the antiquity of the traditions of worshiping the Sun.
In Russia, the Sun had different faces depending on its position in the sky, on the season. That's a newborn Kolyada whose winter light is still weak, then it is young and ardent Yarila, disturbing all nature after hibernation, then a mature husband Dazhdbog bringing a great harvest and prosperity for the whole next year, then the wise old man Horse that gives light of hope in the winter time of the dominance of darkness. The change of solar gods occurs on the days of solstices and equinoxes, and each time is accompanied by great holidays. By the way, in the culture of the Mayans and the Aztecs - on the other hemisphere - these days were also accompanied by celebrations.
Starting a Fire - Recreating the Sun
Recreating the Sun by kindling fire on earth is above all other rituals and is the most common practice on all solar holidays. The fire of the fire, saturated with the fire of the Sun, becomes magical. It not only burns out all the darkness, but also gives a fiery body to the passing seasons. It is not for nothing that the effigies of the solar gods are burned during the holidays - thus their current path on Earth ends and they return to the fiery Sun.
Summer Solstice Customs
On the day of Kupala it was accepted set fire to the wheel and roll it down the hill into the river. This symbolic action depicted the Yarila-Sun, rolling down from its highest position in the sky (the moment of the summer solstice). The dancing and fun that marked the summer solstice sometimes lasted a whole month. During this period, the day does not decrease so quickly, and the Sun only slightly leaves the zenith. Therefore, there is a feeling of the solstice. For our ancestors, it was not the moment of the highest point of the position of the Sun that was important, but throughout the solstice.
The most important thing on this holiday was Kupala bonfire on the night before Kupala. The night was lit with bonfires as a sign of the victory of light over darkness. The fire in the fire acquired magical properties highest solar energy. With this energy, the fire saturated the spirit of people jumping through it for the whole next year. He burned diseases, failures and other troubles. Couples jumping over the fire acquired harmony in relationships, all damage and evil eye were burned in it. Also, for purification, it was customary to drive cattle between Kupala bonfires.
What to do on the summer solstice
What can we do on the day of the summer solstice, which will take place on June 21, 2017. You can visit one of the holidays of admirers of ancient Russian culture on the night before Kupala, or independently light a Kupala fire somewhere in nature, or, in extreme cases, light a candle at home. You need to mentally turn to the Sun and ask to connect its seething energy with your fire.
The energy of the Sun is absolute justice, clarity, happiness, purity and the highest law. Energy, which is so lacking in our lives. So let's ask the Sun on this day for justice in our personal lives, and be sure - in the country and in the world.
Only the field of how you ask for help to the world, the planet and your homeland - you can ask for yourself. That is the order. Let's ask together to put out the hotbeds of wars, bring honest and just rulers to power, and establish social justice in the country. And after that, you can ask yourself what you lack for happiness. Let go of all failures, fears, doubt and despair, these emotions carry negative energy, which is opposite to the sun. Be joyful, inspired and solemn on this great sunny holiday! And be sure to feel, believe in the power of the Sun!
We are relatives of the Sun
Blavatsky wrote that The sun is a living spirit that has nerves, and Chizhevsky - that The sun directly affects the mental activity of the masses. The worship of the Sun is so natural that no other beliefs have been able to completely destroy it. So let's return to the Sun, like lost children to their father, who all this time calmly and patiently awaits our appeal. We are related to the sun. Remember this, and we will all become not orphans, but children of our cosmic parent. And parents always help children! Happy new summer sun to you!
The solstice is one of the two days of the year when the Sun is at its greatest angular distance from the celestial equator, i.e. when the height of the sun above the horizon at noon is minimum or maximum. This results in the longest day and shortest night (summer solstice) in one hemisphere of the Earth, and the shortest day and longest night (winter solstice) in the other.
The day of the summer solstice is the day of the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere of the Earth and the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere, that is, if the inhabitants of the Northern part of the Earth from this moment are at the beginning of astronomical summer, then for the inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere astronomical winter will begin in the same period of time.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs on June 20, 21 or 22. In the southern hemisphere, these dates are the winter solstice. Due to various inequalities in the movement of the Earth, the epochs of the solstice fluctuate by 1-2 days.
In 2017, astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere will begin on June 21 at 04:24 UTC (UTC, 07:24 Moscow time).
On the day of the summer solstice at the latitude of Moscow, the Sun rises above the horizon to a height of more than 57 degrees, and in territories located above the latitude of 66.5 degrees (the Arctic Circle), it does not set below the horizon at all, and the day lasts around the clock. At the North Pole of the Earth, the Sun moves across the sky at the same height around the clock. At the South Pole at this time there is a polar night.
During several adjacent days of the solstice, the noon heights of the Sun in the sky are almost unchanged; hence the name of the solstice. After the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the day begins to wane, and the night gradually begins to increase. In the southern hemisphere, the opposite is true.
For millennia, the summer solstice was of great importance to our ancient ancestors, who obeyed the cycles of nature. In the times of the pagans, the sun had divine power over all living things, and the summer solstice meant the highest flowering of all the forces of nature.
In the old days, even before the advent of Christianity, the Kupala holiday, dedicated to the ancient pagan god Kupala, was timed to the day of the summer solstice.
On this day and night, they wove wreaths, drank surya (honey drink), jumped over fires, made sacrifices to water and fire, collected healing herbs, performed rituals that called for the harvest, and "cleansing the soul and body" ablutions in rivers, lakes and streams. The central place among the vegetation that night was occupied by a fern. It was believed that the fern flower, blooming only for a moment at midnight, would indicate exactly where the treasure was buried.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Day of the summer solstice. Ivanov's day, Ivanov's night. Feast of Lita. Kupala, solstice.
June 20-21 is the summer solstice, the middle of natural summer and the longest day of the year, when the sun reaches its highest position. For millennia, this day (like the winter solstice on December 21) was of great importance for our ancient ancestors, who lived in harmony with Mother Earth and obeyed the cycles of nature.
Dates of the summer solstice for the coming years:
Ancient celebrations of the Summer Solstice.
Midsummer Day, Lita and Kupala are the oldest European festivals dedicated to the day of the summer solstice. These holidays were the most joyful and magnificently celebrated by our ancestors for centuries. Being unable to forbid and erase them from the memory of the peoples, the Christian Church introduced the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24 (in Russia it is celebrated on July 7 according to the Julian calendar).
For the pagans, the sun had divine power over all living things, and the summer solstice meant the highest flowering of all the forces of nature, which is embodied in abundance with the ripening of the harvest. However, the middle of summer also reminded of the upcoming reduction of daylight hours and the inevitable approach of autumn, and then winter.
Litha is the Celtic celebration of the summer solstice.
The Celts celebrated Litha, the solstice, Midsummer. Summer for them began with Beltane on May 1 (May Day) and ended with Lughnasad on August 1). Lita's festivals organically combined work and leisure, rituals and entertainment, weddings and communication with spirits, divination and divination.
Those who celebrated Lita decorated themselves and their homes with branches, garlands and wreaths of flowers. Mandatory plants for the summer solstice were: St. John's wort, birch, fennel, hare cabbage and white lilies. People came out to sing, dance and dance, and also participated in ritual ceremonies. By evening, they went to the nearest grove to leave offerings of food and fragrant herbs for the fairies and elves (the latter, according to legend, had special magical powers if they were collected on Lita). With the onset of darkness, torchlight processions and bonfires were arranged, to which magical powers were also attributed. Jumping over a fire, according to ancient beliefs, could provide prosperity and protection for the whole family. The lovers, holding hands, jumped over the fire three times so that their marriage would be happy, rich and have many children. Even the embers from the Lita fire were saved and used later to heal wounds and ward off bad weather during the harvest season.
In June, the first honey is harvested, so the June full moon was called the honeymoon. After the Beltane festivities, many couples were expecting an addition, and the end of June was the time for mass pagan weddings. Thus, the concept of marriage was closely associated with the June honeymoon, and later turned into a tradition that we are happy to follow today. Curiously, June is still the most popular month for marriages in many countries.
Germanic and Scandinavian Midsummer Celebrations.
The Germanic, Scandinavian and Baltic peoples celebrated the day and night of the summer solstice magnificently. Subsequently, these holidays in different countries were called Ivan's Day or Ivan's Night (from the national version of the name Ivan). The meaning of the rituals on Ivan's Day coincides with the meaning of Lita: this is a greeting of the union of the Sun and the Earth, calls for a future harvest and prosperity, and scaring away evil spirits. The celebrations of Ivan's Day in different countries of Europe are characterized by the kindling of huge bonfires (the higher the bonfire, the more terrible it is for evil spirits), as well as jumping over fire and water worship rituals (lowering flowers on water, burning old boats in Scandinavia), which are now are actually gone. On Midsummer Night, no one went to bed, people walked and had fun, had fun and celebrated until dawn. Some Midsummer rituals are still alive today, in Scandinavia, the Baltics and other European countries, folk festivals are held between June 19 and 25.
Old Russian holidays of the summer solstice.
In Russia, before the solstice, the Rusal Week was celebrated, honoring mermaids - the spirits of rivers and lakes. This week was closely connected with the remembrance of the ancestors, due to the European custom that existed from antiquity to scatter the burnt ashes of warriors on boats along the rivers. Directly on the day of the solstice in Russia, Kupala was celebrated - the end of spring and the beginning of summer with its first month Kresen. The rituals of Kupala are very similar to the rituals of Ivan's Day and Lita, which is quite natural, given the common historical roots of European peoples. The ancient Rus wove wreaths, drank surya (honey drink), jumped over fires, made sacrifices to water and fire, collected healing herbs, performed rituals that called for the harvest and "cleansing soul and body" ablutions in rivers, lakes and streams.
Immediately after the day of the solstice, the solstice came, which lasted 3 days and during which the whole cycle of life's ups and downs of the god Perun was celebrated: from birth to death, then magical Sunday and the upcoming victory over the Skipper-beast. Perun is one of the most important gods among the ancient Slavs, the patron saint of warriors, who was in charge of the forces of nature and heavenly fire.
The spring and autumn equinoxes are an astronomical phenomenon in which day equals night, they mark the change of seasons. We know that the spring and autumn equinoxes occur at the moment when our Sun crosses the celestial equator in its annual movement along the ecliptic. These points, respectively, are in the constellations of Pisces and Virgo. The day of the vernal equinox is the beginning of astronomical spring.
On the days of the solstices, our daytime luminary reaches the extreme points of its annual path through the sky - in summer it deviates 23.4 degrees north of the celestial equator, in winter - 23.4 degrees south. Therefore, in June, the Sun illuminates the northern hemisphere of the Earth more - and at the time of the solstice summer comes here, - and at the end of December - the south, and at this time we have winter (and summer in the southern hemisphere).
Below you can see the exact dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes for the city of Moscow, just like the winter and summer solstices.
| event | date Time |
| spring equinox | March 20 at 19:15 Tue |
| summer solstice | June 21 at 13:07 th |
| autumnal equinox | 23 september at 04:54 sun |
| winter solstice | December 22 at 01:22 Sat |
These dates were among the most revered in the pre-Christian period. Solstice, rotation, equinox, solstice - the names of solar holidays, which are also called the four hypostases of the Slavic Dazhdbog, which is the Sun itself - the son of Svarog.
Kolyada - winter solstice (December 21-22);
- Maslenitsa or Komoyeditsy - the day of the spring equinox (March 21-22);
- Kupailo (Kupala) - summer solstice (June 21-22);
- Radogoshch (Svetovit, Veresen, Tausen) - autumn equinox (September 22-23);
Kolyada is the winter solstice or the longest night of the year. During this period, the young sun Kolyada replaces the old sun Svetovit. Because the daylight hours from this day begins to increase. Replaced by the church on Christmas Day.
Maslenitsa or Komoyeditsy - the day of the spring equinox (day and night are equal in time), farewell to winter, burning of the effigy of Madder, meeting of spring and the Slavic New Year. The date March 21-22 is also the beginning of astronomical spring. From now on, the day becomes longer than the night. Yarilo-Sun replaces Kolyada and drives away Zima-Marena. Traditionally, this circle was celebrated for two whole weeks.
Kupailo is the day of the summer solstice. The longest day and shortest night of the year. The last day of the Rusal Week or Mermaids. Kupala is one of the oldest holidays that has preserved many traditions and customs unchanged to this day, for example: the funeral of Yarila, who is replaced by the God of the summer sun Kupala, the collection of medicinal herbs, the search for a fern flower, etc. Kupailo is also a great holiday, which is now replaced by the church on the birthday of John the Baptist.
Radogoshch (Svetovit, Veresen, Tausen) - the day of the autumn equinox (day and night are equal in time). On this day, the Sun-Old Man Svetovit takes over. The night is getting longer than the day. It is both a solar holiday and a holiday of the end of the harvest. Replaced by the church on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Day of equinox and solstice by year: