How to Celebrate Midsummer

Happy June! This is the official start of summer in Britain! Not much of a start, it's been cold and raining all day. Wearing a summer dress was not a good idea, but I was determine to summer it up and make a video all about the summer solstice! This has been an important event since prehistoric times. We know that people used to light great fires and party through the shortest night of the year. Another thing they used to do was construct a large sun-wheel, and roll it down a hill while ablaze. My mum told me that she gathered wild flowers and placed them under her pillow on Midsummer's Night, to find out who she would marry. It's an old tradition, and it seemed to work for her, because she dreamt of my dad! My mum is Swedish, and over there, Midsummer is an event for the whole community to gather before the maypole. Mild weather and greenery take a little longer to reach Sweden than they do Britain, which is why the maypole isn't erected until June. They gather all the greenery and wild flowers they can find, and bind them to the pole, which forms a cross at the top, adorned by two large loops. This is a simple design, but there are more elaborate versions. Everyone gathers round to watch the pole go up, and then they sing songs and dance around it. It's common to wear a garland of flowers on your head while doing so. In the evening, there's feasting and drinking, to welcome the very brief darkness of night. If you're within the arctic circle, there's no nighttime whatsoever, as the summer solstice provides perpetual daylight.

Midsummer is one of the most important events of the year in Sweden, but in Britain, it goes largely unnoticed. Those who are inclined to celebrate the solstice might decide to gather at Stonehenge, which is perhaps Britain's most famous megalithic monument. Midsummer's Eve is the only time of year that Stonehenge is opened to the general public, and thousands swarm around the ancient stones. There is a ritual lead by the Druids, and people party through the night, to see the sunrise at 4:54 on Sunday morning. The stones will be accessible until about 8:00 when some 20,000 people are expected to clear off. You might then make a trip to Glastonbury, where the Chalice Well is accessible between 10:00 and 12:00. Between 12:00 and 12:30 there will be a meditation at the Well Head, followed by a gathering around a fire on the Lower Lawn. Solar noon will be at 13:09, which is when the sun will be highest in the sky. This, the longest day of the year, will enjoy 16 hours, 29 minutes, and 45 seconds of daylight.

After the summer solstice, the sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day. Sunrise will gradually move from the north toward the east. Sunset will move likewise. Although the days will be getting shorter, the temperature will be getting warmer. You'd expect the temperature to be pretty warm on Midsummer's Day, but a seasonal lag means that the weather takes a while to catch up. The reason the weather takes about a month or two to catch up is largely to do with the world's oceans. Over 70% of the planet's surface is water, and water takes a long time to warm up and cool down. This effect is particularly noticeable in Britain, where we are surrounded by seas. If it weren't for all that water, Midsummer would indeed be the hottest time of year. Instead, we can look forward to peak temperatures in late July and August, as the hottest time of year opens the harvest season. Celebrating the seasons can help you connect with your environment, pay attention to nature, and experience mindfulness of the here and now. Remember that you are living on a little rock, spinning around a giant ball of fire, hurtling around the galaxy at 483,000 miles per hour. It helps put things into perspective.