On June 21 those of us living in the northern hemisphere will enjoy the longest day of the year. The sun reaches its zenith at the Solstice and the season of summer officially begins. With all those sunny days in front of us, it’s a little hard to fathom that as of June 22 the days will already start getting shorter. Yes, since last Winter Solstice on December 21, the amount of daylight in our 24-hour day has been increasing incrementally. The Summer Solstice marks the beginning of the waning year, when darkness begins its slow march to once again overtake the light and so the year performs its own eternal dance.
Throughout history the Summer Solstice has been observed as an auspicious day. It’s generally seen as a time of peak fertility. The earth is green and blooming. Flowers and herbs are painting the landscape in a multitude of colors while food crops are reaching for ripeness. Soon our gardens will be overflowing and all our recipes for zucchini will be exhausted. While almost every ancient culture recognized Summer Solstice as a time to honor the earth and her abundance, some celebrations were more unique than others.
According to some ancient Grecian calendars (there were many), Summer Solstice marked the first day of the year. The Greeks turned their social code upside down on this important day and the masters served their slaves during solstice festivals.
Central and Northern European tribes celebrated the solstice with bonfires and merry making of all kinds. “Jumping the fire” was a tradition that might predict how high the crops would grow or whether or not a couple would be wed that summer. Married women jumped the fire at Summer Solstice to promote their own fertility.
The Vestalia festival was celebrated just before Summer Solstice in ancient Rome. During Vestalia–which honored Vesta, goddess of the hearth–married women were allowed to enter Vesta’s sacred temple to make offerings. The honor was usually reserved for the virgins who served at the temple.
Many Native American tribes participated in ancient solstice ceremonies, including the well-known sun dance of the Lakota. The Bighorn medicine wheel in Wyoming is believed by some scholars to be an ancient site for the sun dance because it aligns with the sunrise and sunset on solstice day.
Modern celebrants of Summer Solstice might be interested in attending the Summer Solstice event in Santa Barbara. On June 19, the city of Santa Barbara kicks off its three-day event with a colorful parade. If you can’t make it out of town this year but would like to observe the solstice, gather your friends and make your own festivities. However you celebrate, remember to give thanks for the abundance our earth provides and enjoy the natural beauty of our beautiful Central Coast.
