Midsummer celebrations throughout Europe coincide with the solstice. Many blend pre-Christian and Christian traditions.
Articles on Solstice
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Earth’s tilt means the Sun both rises earlier and sets later as we head towards summer.
Structures aligned with solar events served various purposes: science, farming, religion and even politics.
The longest and shortest days of the year are marked by the Sun’s position in the sky – but the seasons lag behind.
The dead of winter, when the longest night of the year takes place, has also traditionally been celebrated as a time of renewal and reverence.
Popular belief suggests the highest tides in the St. Lawrence River are reached around the equinoxes. In truth, they arrive close to the solstices.
Christmas was popularized in the United States during the American Civil War, when Harper’s Weekly featured the image of Santa Claus visiting the Union Army on its front page.
The 2020 winter solstice is also when Saturn and Jupiter appear closest to each other for 60 years, Here’s what you need to know about both the events.
The reason we have seasons is because, during its journey around the Sun, the Earth is tilted.
How did civilization emerge from small groups of hunter-gatherers? Some archaeologists focus on cooperation as the vital ingredient – and find evidence for it in the form of feast-related artifacts.
The tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits the Sun results in the seasonal changes.
A solar day is a measure of how long it takes the Earth to rotate from one noon to the next, and today’s summer solstice also happens to be the longest solar day of the year.
Top contributors
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Acting Director and Astronomer, Dyer Observatory, Vanderbilt University
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Professor of Astronomy, UMass Amherst
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria Research Institute; The University of Melbourne
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Exec. Director, Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment; Professor of Anthropology, University of South Florida
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Postdoctoral research associate, University of Oxford
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Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Director, Executive Leadership Academy, University of California, Berkeley
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas
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Professeur en océanographie physique, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
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Professor of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Professeur-chercheur en océanographie physique, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
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Chair/Professor, Division of Social, Behavioral & Global Studies, California State University, Monterey Bay
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Professeur en océanographie physique, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
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Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney