Celebrating Summer Solstice
It was a comfortably warm evening last June, when a friend and I parked in the lot of the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware (UUSD) building. With our chairs, drums, and firewood in hand we walked around to the back of the building where we found our spot and settled in with the others who came together to recognize the summer solstice.
“We celebrate the abundance of the earth and all it gives to us. We gather together to honor the generosity of the earth,” said Sue Greer, an energy medicine practitioner and an ordained minister in Lewes, who lead the ceremony. We listened, drummed, threw our wood into the fire, set an intention, and recognized the sacredness of the world in which we live. “We’ve lost touch with nature and the rhythms within ourselves and our environment. We need to be more in touch with our connection to the earth,” said Greer.
As a kid, I looked forward to the summer solstice. It signified school was about to end. I knew it was the longest day of the year which translated to more time after dinner to play outside with neighborhood kids. Until last year when I attended the celebration, I never knew the historical, spiritual, or practical meaning of the day.
Summer solstice is the longest day (in the northern hemisphere), because we receive more daylight on that day than any other day of the year. It marks the start of astronomical summer and the tipping point at which days start to become shorter and nights longer.
Solstice celebrations around the world are joyous ones. “It’s about community, fertility, joy, celebration of life, and abundance. We are honoring the earth,” said Greer. This natural event has been acknowledged and celebrated by Pagan and Christian cultures for thousands of years.
Many Native American tribes took part in solstice rituals, some of which are still practiced today. Some scholars believe that Wyoming’s Bighorn Medicine Wheel, an arrangement of stones built several hundred years ago by Plains Indians that aligns with the summer solstice sunrise and sunset, was the site of that culture’s annual sun dance.
“The central channel of a domed building in Newgrange Ireland, which was built 5,200 years ago, is flooded by sunlight at the exact time the sun rises on the summer solstice,” said Greer. “It was obviously very important to acknowledge and honor the solstice all those years ago.”
Stonehenge, in the south of England, may be the most well-known ancient structure constructed to align with sunrise on the summer solstice. Each year, thousands gather at Stonehenge and often celebrate all night.
Observing the solstice, said Greer, helps to align yourself with the cycles of the earth that we’ve lost touch with. “It’s really about honoring the earth which sustains us,” she said. “We get oxygen, abundant amounts of food, and so much more. It’s about acknowledging and listening to the earth for all that she gives us.”
You can commemorate the solstice alone or with family or friends right in your own home or neighborhood. A ritual as simple as listening to trees and the sound of wind can connect you to the earth’s magnificence. “You can sit on your balcony and watch the sun set,” Greer said. “Acknowledging the solstice helps us become more in balance with nature. We all know the sun sets at a certain time, but we don’t take it as important. It’s the moment of transition. It’s when the earth turns on its axis.”
Another way you can commemorate the solstice is by taking a music- and podcast-free walk on the beach, letting the only noise be the sound of the water lapping against the sand. You can plant a garden or just plant a flower. If you like to entertain, have a dinner party where you prepare all fresh foods. Both meditation and yoga can help you get grounded, reduce stress, neutralize free radicals, improve sleep, and think more clearly. Make a list of your dreams. Focus on a few and commit to enacting meaningful changes. Think of this time as a new beginning. Rearrange your furniture or refocus your eating habits to include more fresh, local foods and fewer processed ones.
The solstice happens at the exact same moment—in 2023, at 10:58 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 21—everywhere on the planet. (In the northern hemisphere it’s the summer solstice and in the southern hemisphere it’s the winter solstice.)
The realization that I am connected to the world at this one moment in time is amazing. I’m looking forward to celebrating with others at UUSD again this year. The ceremony there begins at 6:00 p.m. on the solstice. ▼
Pattie Cinelli is a writer who examines ways to enhance the quality of your life. She focuses on non-traditional methods to stay healthy, get fit, and be well. Please contact her at: fitmiss44@aol.com.
Photo: Hulki Okan Tabak, Unsplash