Happy Summer Solstice! It’s hard to believe that today is the longest day of the year.
When the shortest day comes on December 21st, I’m ready for the days to get longer. It’s dark early and it feels like the right time to swing the pendulum back, and to start seeing more daylight. But June 21st seems too early in the summer to be at the maximum daylight length.
It's not only #FathersDay in the U.S., but it's also the #SummerSolstice in the Northern Hemisphere!
This #GOESEast loop was made from images collected each day at 1400 UTC from Dec. 21, 2020 – June 18, 2021. It shows the change from winter to summer due to the #Earth's tilt. pic.twitter.com/Gcleg2sqPw
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) June 20, 2021
School is still in session, and the entire summer holiday is ahead of us. In my head the long, bright days of summer are just approaching. But every day from now until next December will get a little shorter.
There are reasons why the dead of winter is delayed until after the shortest day of the year, and why summer is hottest after the longest day… but intuitively it doesn’t make a lot of sense. This day just seems to come too early in the year. This timing does explain why the summer solstice was such an important event to pre-industrial humans. This is the day that leads to a bountiful summer, when the sun provides the greatest rewards. It’s a time when all crops have been planted and many early crops will already be ready, and ripe for picking. And so there is enough food for a feast, and the hard work of caring for crops and harvesting are ahead.
Now, the solstice is just an interesting fact, rather than a big celebration. But I always look forward to the summer and winter solstice. The winter solstice because it’s nice to think of each day getting longer as the winter approaches. The summer solstice because the whole summer lies ahead. So, while many don’t think of this day as special, I do.
