Summer solstice

As old as time itself!

holding-the-sun

The point at which the sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator is the Summer Solstice, well it is for the Northern Hemisphere. This occurs annually on June 20 or June 21, depending on your time zone.

Here in Southern Oregon, the moment of the Summer Solstice will be 22:04 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on the evening of June 20th and at 05:04 GMT/UTC on June 21 2013 in the United Kingdom.

A quick web ‘look-up’ finds that the word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time, albeit momentarily.

At the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in Southern England, the prehistoric monument that took Neolithic builders an estimated 1,500 years to erect, for many years the Druids have celebrated the Solstice and, undoubtedly, will be doing so again.

AMESBURY, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 21: A man stands on top of Stonehenge as the sun rises over Salisbury Plain on June 21, 2006 in Amesbury, England. Police estimated around 17,000 people travelled to watch the sun rise ove the 5,000 year old stone circle to start the longest day of the year. The all-night party to celebrate the Summer Solstice passed with only four arrests being made. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
AMESBURY, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 21: A man stands on top of Stonehenge as the sun rises over Salisbury Plain on June 21, 2006 in Amesbury, England. Police estimated around 17,000 people travelled to watch the sun rise over the 5,000 year old stone circle to start the longest day of the year. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

9 thoughts on “Summer solstice”

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  3. I will mark the Solstice on the Hillyfields in Colchester I think to see what the ancient Celts might have seen on this longest day.

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    1. I do recall incredibly well that one couldn’t live in or around Colchester without being conscious of the great history of the place. When I was working there, the business was based at Portreeves House down by the river. That name Portreeve was, as I’m sure you know, the echo of Gate Master as in Sheriff being the time-warped version of Shire Reeve, Shire Master.

      So next time you go past Portreeves House say a ‘thank you’ on my behalf for the good memories the building gave me.

      Colchester: Lovely place to embrace the solstice.

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      1. Hi Paul, yes, Colchester as you say is full of ancient history. I am proud to live here and I will watch out for this building.

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  6. It was a pleasant day here yesterday on the Summer Solstice and as it marked the longest day, I made the most of it.. 🙂
    I didnt see the sun rise though, far too cloudy here… but the Sun did get through in the afternoon… 🙂

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