Every year, June 21 is marked as the day of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere of the world, where summer is in the middle of the year, as opposed to the southern hemisphere where summer lies in December.
Key points
- After half a year of arctic winter, the summer solstice is marked to celebrate the beginning of summer or midsummer, when one of Earth’s poles is on the maximum tilt towards the sun.
- June 21 is the longest day of the year with the shortest night. After this day, the days start getting shorter, slowly and steadily.
- On the day of the solstice, the Sun reaches its northernmost position at the Tropic of Cancer, after which it stands still before reversing its direction and moving south again.
- The summer solstice is the longest day of the year because of the pole of the Earth that is tilting to a degree of 23.5 more than its usual tilt. This tilt makes the Earth receive more direct sunlight onto its surface.
- In Sweden, the Summer Solstice is known as Midsommar. Known as the Midnight Sun festival in Iceland as the country receives 24 hours of daylight during the day. Known as White Night in Russia, the festival is celebrated with pomp and splendour. In Norway, the festival is celebrated as Slinningsbålet.
