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I’ve all the time been a summer time lady. It’s not cozy like fall, brisk like winter, or hopeful like spring. Summer season stands by itself as a vibrant, energizing time of 12 months. It’s when happiness is only a juicy, drip-down-your-chin chew of watermelon away—and giddiness arrives with a single cannonball off the diving board. The nights stretch lengthy into golden hour, when even the lightning bugs activate their electrical appeal. Every little thing on the planet simply feels higher when it’s sun-kissed.
So you’ll be able to think about my delight after I was requested to write down a information to celebrating the summer time solstice.
One in every of my favourite summer time individuals is my mother-in-law—a lady named Margaret who, someplace alongside the way in which, began calling herself “Marguerite” as a result of she felt it suited her higher. (The identify means “wild French daisy,” which is way extra her fashion.) Because the household matriarch, she inspired us to reside creatively and shade exterior the traces, even whereas rooted in a buttoned-up suburban neighborhood in San Antonio.
Whereas others performed tennis and sipped toddies on the membership, Marguerite spent her days gardening and meditating. And when most households gathered for Christmas or Hanukkah in December, she would lead us in moonlit winter solstice celebrations—decked in silver and gold, dancing beneath the celebrities. Within the hotter months, it was maypoles, flower crowns, magic spells, and midsummer revelry. It was magical and memorable. It taught me to method the world with open-hearted exuberance and childlike whimsy.
Years later, my lovely mother-in-law is affected by a debilitating and uncommon mind illness. Now greater than ever, I discover myself leaning on the recollections of these traditions she introduced into my life. In honor of her treasured and galvanizing spirit, I began trying into incorporating a few of her wildly great methods into my family of 5.
Learn on for a glance into what the summer time solstice is, why it’s celebrated, and a few concepts that you just, too, can incorporate into your individual festivities.
What’s the summer time solstice?
Throughout the summer time solstice within the northern hemisphere, the earth’s axis is tilted most in the direction of the solar, providing up the longest day of the 12 months (assume: extra daylight!) and the shortest evening. It all the time happens on the finish of June. This 12 months, Summer season Solstice is on Friday, June twentieth, thus starting the astronomical begin of summer time.
Why will we rejoice it?
For hundreds of years, individuals have celebrated the summer time and winter solstices as markers of the planting and harvest seasons—relationship all the way in which again to the Neolithic period, in accordance with St. Neot’s Museum. Early Pagans honored the summer time solstice as a time to glorify the Solar God, adorning themselves with garlands of herbs and flowers believed to keep at bay evil spirits (which they thought have been most energetic in the course of the top of summer time). Right now, these traditions reside on, with solstice celebrations symbolizing new life, mild, renewal, fertility, and abundance—each inside ourselves and on the planet round us.
How is the summer time solstice celebrated around the globe?
In England, individuals collect collectively to look at the dawn above the Heel Stone at Stonehenge. Within the Nordic nations of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, they rejoice with their Midsommer festivals, every with their very own distinctive traditions (the Swedes enhance their hair with flowers and dance round Maypoles, whereas the Finns mild bonfires and soak in saunas.) In the meantime, simply 150 miles south of the arctic circle in Fairbanks, Alaska, they rejoice every summer time solstice with a midnight solar baseball recreation and competition.
In England, crowds collect to look at the solar rise above the Heel Stone at Stonehenge—a timeless solstice custom. Throughout the Nordic nations of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, Midsommer festivals take middle stage, every with its personal distinctive customs. In Sweden, revelers put on flower crowns and dance round maypoles, whereas in Finland, bonfires blaze and saunas are a key a part of the celebration. In the meantime, simply 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks, Alaska marks the summer time solstice with a midnight solar baseball recreation and a city-wide competition.
Wish to create your individual competition with out touring to the ends of the earth? Learn on for a few of our concepts to rejoice the longest day of the 12 months!
Out of doors Summer season Solstice Actions
Take a hike. Get off the crushed path, lace up these mountain climbing boots, and put together to sweat a bit. There’s no higher technique to rejoice summer time solstice than (a music and podcast-free) hike via Mom Nature, permitting the one noise to be the sound of crunching dust beneath your ft.
Bask within the solar’s glory. Get exterior and permit your pores and skin to take in a little bit of vitamin D. And in the event you’re hanging exterior for greater than only a few minutes, right here’s our roundup of all our favourite mineral and chemical sunscreens.
Escape the garden video games. Pickleball or bocce, anybody?
Stargaze. Unfold out a blanket in your yard and stare on the stars. An excessive amount of metropolis mild making it arduous to see the Milky Manner? Strive getting out of the town limits a bit—the much less metropolis mild, the higher the stargazing.
DIY Summer season Solstice Crafts to Have a good time the Solar
Channel your bohemian spirit. Design a DIY floral crown.
Make a suncatcher. Hit your native bead retailer, and hold your handmade creation in a window, permitting the beads to softly deflect the sunshine into your property.
Assemble a Litha altar. Historically, a Litha altar honors the solar and the power of the summer time solstice—with symbols like yellow candles, herbs, flowers, and solar imagery.
Be a Solar Goddess. Seize some ribbon, twine, branches, and sage, and check out your hand at a solar wheel.
Journey-Impressed Summer season Solstice Concepts
Go berry selecting. Discover a native farm exterior the town limits, and make a day of it strolling amongst the timber and vines.
Arrange camp. Discover the proper tent, collect up some wooden for a bonfire, and head for the hills.
Take a night dip. Don’t have a pool? Discover a neighborhood pool to swim by the moon’s glow. (Stay in Austin? We’re a fan of the complete moon swims at Barton Springs.)
Strive paddleboard yoga. In true Summer season Solstice trend, SUP yoga takes you exterior celebrating the good outside, is a good train for each physique and stability, and is simply plain enjoyable.
Summer season Solstice Meals Concepts
Summer season Solstice Rituals for Reflection and Renewal
Meditate. It’s so simple as inhaling and respiration out.
Get grounded. Sure, it’s buzzy, however for good purpose. Grounding is a stylish new custom with historical roots. It reduces stress and irritation, neutralizes free radicals, improves sleep, and has been mentioned to assist pores and skin tone and readability.
Set intentions. Thought purpose setting was for January solely? Assume once more. Honor the summer time solstice’s celebration of latest beginnings by turning over a couple of new leaves of your individual.
Begin one thing new. The summer time solstice is all about new beginnings, so now’s the proper time to attempt your hand at studying extra about enneagram sorts or taking on nature journaling.
This submit was final up to date on June 20, 2025 to incorporate new insights.