Today is summer solstice – solstice d’été – solstizio d’estate -kesäpäivänseisaus – Haziran Gündönümü – Sommersonnenwende ( 21. Juni)
Today is summer solstice: in the Northern emisphere, in this day, we have the longest daylight period of the year! Solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).
The summer solstice occurs when the tilt of a planet’s semi-axis, in either the northern or the southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star that it orbits. Earth’s maximum axial tilt toward the Sun is 23° 26′. This happens twice each year, at which times the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the north or the south pole. The term is colloquially used like midsummer to refer to the day on which solstice occurs. The summer solstice day has the longest period of daylight – except in the polar regions, where daylight is continuous, from a few days to six months around the summer solstice.
Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied among cultures, but most recognize the event in some way with holidays, festivals, and rituals around that time with themes of religion or fertility.
Maddalena Bellocchio