Year’s longest day
SUNDAY was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere with the most sunlight hours.
The southern Summer Solstice occurs when the tilt of the Earth is most inclined towards the sun. The maximum tilt of the Earth on its axis is 23° 26'. When we are at this maximum we have the most daylight hours of the year.
The summer solstice does not always happen on the same day because of calendar shift. It can occur any day from December 20-23. The word solstice comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).
The summer solstice occurs in December for us Down Under but people in the Northern Hemisphere experience it from June 20-22.
It is also know as Mid-summer and for many past civilizations, the Summer Solstice held great meaning and significance.
To this day, some people in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate it with feasts, parties and observance at shrines.
The ancient Greeks used the Summer Solstice as the one-month countdown to the opening of the Olympic Games while it was the only day when married women were allowed to enter the sacred temple of the vestal virgins and make offerings to Vesta in ancient Rome.
The Chinese celebrated the force known as yin and many other cultures welcomed the Summer Solstice with bonfires.
I hope you enjoyed your Mid-summer day and have a fantastic Christmas.
