It’s tomorrow – in the early hours of the morning. I’m talking about the summer solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere).☀️

The summer solstice mostly falls on 21 June (officially it does vary between 20-22 June).

Actually, right now in a lot of Europe we are in the middle of a heatwave. Here, in Montpellier, the temperature is supposed to hit 35°C this afternoon.🥵 Further north, in London temperatures will also reach 30 or just over.

Summer solstice

It’s the day with the most daylight of the year. In some places, like Reykjavik and the north of Scandinavia, the sun barely sets before it rises again. This is because the most northern tip of the Earth is tilted towards the sun.

I was actually in Iceland around this time of year a while ago. We were still hiking close to midnight. The locals were out and about doing sports, fishing and other activities that late too.

Note that the summer solstice is not quite the same as Midsummer, which usually falls a few days later. This small dealignment is thought to relate to the slight variations of the Julian and the Gregorian calendars.

Some summer solstice history

📜Thousands of years ago we were already wondering, exploring and inventing. I’ll leave you with some human ingenuity about the sun.☀️

Going back to the Neolithic times = last part of the Stone Age period. This is also known as the New Stone Age, which finished around 2000 B.C.  People had strong beliefs about the sun and started to create monuments to celebrate it.

🔺In ancient Egypt, the sun deity, Ra, was actually the King of all the deities and the father of all creation. It was believed that Ra could not only govern the actions of the sun, he could also be the sun! The first mentions of Ra were around 2400-2300 B.C., and in scriptures he is depicted with a falcon head and a huge (sun) circle sitting on top of his head.

🌑In England, Stonehenge is one of the most famous ancient monuments. This ancient stone circle was built in different stages between 3,000 B.C. – 1,520 B.C. There is also a separate stone quite far outside the circle, called the Heel Stone. This stone aligns with the rising sun of the summer solstice (and with the setting sun of the winter solstice)!

Let’s use our knowledge and ingenuity of today to do good to each other 🕊️ and our planet!🙌

Sources: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, 10 Hours Eco Comms, National Trust, National Geographic, BBC

…And if you want to read more about what I do in the climate space, then please do check out my services.