wintermom Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Growing up, we didn't celebrate the longest day of the year, though we certainly loved being outdoors in the super long, warm evening around late June. When I lived in Norway in the 1990s, I experienced the actual holiday of 'midsummer' in Sweden and Estonia. I believe that other countries, certainly in Europe, do have festivals or special events on or around the summer solstice. Anyone have any traditions? I still just love being outside in the light, long into the evening. That's about all the 'celebrating' I do,, but it is fun to mark the day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 (edited) The 21st is my birthday. 🙂 I get much more excited about solstice than my birthday. 😉 I don’t do anything to formally celebrate, but I should! Edited June 20, 2023 by popmom 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Winter Solstice here. It's nearly 10am and I think the washing on the line has finally defrosted. Pretty thrilling. I discovered a half used box of sparklers in a drawer the other day, so I may go outside to play with them tonight, after I've taken a few jugs of hot water out for my choko and the neighbour's lemon tree. If anyone else was around to help me eat it, I'd make a gingernut snap (instead of chocolate) ripple cake, to be a mock Yule log. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 19 minutes ago, popmom said: The 21st is my birthday. 🙂 Happy birthday to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 (edited) I don't formally celebrate, but I do quietly rejoice on the summer solstice, since it means the days will start getting shorter again. ETA: Well, the days don't get shorter. of course. I'm a winter person, so I delight less daylight. Edited June 20, 2023 by Pawz4me 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 9 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Winter Solstice here. It's nearly 10am and I think the washing on the line has finally defrosted. Pretty thrilling. I discovered a half used box of sparklers in a drawer the other day, so I may go outside to play with them tonight, after I've taken a few jugs of hot water out for my choko and the neighbour's lemon tree. If anyone else was around to help me eat it, I'd make a gingernut snap (instead of chocolate) ripple cake, to be a mock Yule log. I always watch the "Little Bear" episode about winter solstice. When my kids were little, I made sun bread a few times at winter solstice to celebrate it. Weirdly, we've never done anything really for summer solstice. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I do. Growing up we danced the maypole and had a smorgasbord and bonfire. (And it was also usually powwow season, so we would go to that also if the weekends lined up.) Now that I live away, we usually just make smores and eat good food. Sometimes we go hiking and end the night on the beach. Whatever we do, we try to be outside enjoying the sunlight. 🙂 There's a festival near by I might go to sometime, but it's just not the same when it's not your family and friends, iykwim. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
----- Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I never realized what the solstice was until dh explained it to me a long time ago. When we lived in NH we would go out to "America's Stonehenge" on the solstice. The first time we went it was weird. I think there were witches (??) wiccans (??), something, performing some kind of rituals out on the rocks there, and we happened to stumble into the middle of that. They picked up and scurried off in a big hurry. Not sure why but I was fascinated by it. And no idea what they were doing. I'm just glad the days start getting shorter at that point in the summer. I really preferred the winter solstice in NH because the days were incredibly short and it got dark around 3:30 or 4, I think. That was exciting. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 When I read the title of the post my thoughts went directly to thinking "Do we celebrate this by reading Midsummer Night's Dream??" 😋 I kind of want to make that thing now... 3 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Crossover post from meme thread. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 4 minutes ago, Clarita said: When I read the title of the post my thoughts went directly to thinking "Do we celebrate this by reading Midsummer Night's Dream??" 😋 I kind of want to make that thing now... We watch the BBC Classics version every year. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 25 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Happy birthday to you! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Yes. We have a fun little celebration in the backyard. It normally involves fire but we are in a drought and under burn ban, so that won't be happening. We do it on June 23, the traditional summer solstice of Denmark which is also our dd's birthday. Since we have the burn ban, I guess our straw figure will have to lit afire in my old, decorative cast iron tub outdoors but after we have filled it with water. I need to make a stick boat for it. That will be the closest thing we get to a bonfire this year. I think we need to add reading Midsummer night's Dream to our repertoire! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMommy Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 53 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: I don't formally celebrate, but I do quietly rejoice on the summer solstice, since it means the days will start getting shorter again. ETA: Well, the days don't get shorter. of course. I'm a winter person, so I delight less daylight. Are you related to me? 🙂 Every year on the first day of summer, I say the best part about the day is that we're on our back to winter! And then I suffer through two more months of what is to me excessive heat. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I don’t celebrate summer solstice but I do celebrate chinese dumpling festival (dragon boat festival) which is on June 22nd this year and we celebrate that by eating rice dumplings 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Where I am it’s currently 103* with a heat index even higher. Tomorrow is more of the same. There are no outdoor celebrations happening here. There’s merely wondering what one did to deserve this hell on earth. 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 20 minutes ago, brehon said: Where I am it’s currently 103* with a heat index even higher. Tomorrow is more of the same. There are no outdoor celebrations happening here. There’s merely wondering what one did to deserve this hell on earth. Ice-cream party indoors 🙂 DS18 is interested in a hand crank shaved ice machine 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I celebrate the start of each season quietly in my garden, walking barefoot and documenting what is going on in the garden. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 @popmom Happy birthday! Enjoy your summer solstice this year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 We have a Swedish American Institute here in Minneapolis and they always have great Midsommar events we sometimes have done. They're doing a Swedish sing along in their courtyard this year. There are actually a few other midsommer events happening this week in town too. The best time of the year! Happy birthday! My daughter and I both have June birthdays and it really is THE BEST! 😍 Though I have to admit, July and August heat is grating to me, I love fall. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) I just did a little google search and discovered that several countries combine the summer solstice / midsummer with St. John the Baptist day. In Quebec, saint- jean-baptiste day is the biggest holiday of the year. It is celebrated as a "national" holiday of Quebec, rather than Canada day, which comes exactly one week later. I never made the connection with midsummer before. Edited June 21, 2023 by wintermom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Summer solstice is probably too close to Christmas Day for us here. But for winter solstice - well, when I was a kid everyone would celebrate Bonfire Night in June. There were firecrackers, bonfires, sparklers, we'd cook sausages and damper on the fire. Then firecrackers were banned (for public safety - I agree with this). For a few years people tried to keep up bonfire night just with sparklers - but it has totally faded away now. People do still have bonfires (as in people with large properties who need to burn prunings), but it's all on different nights, it's not a big community celebration the way it used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) 8 hours ago, MrsMommy said: Are you related to me? 🙂 Every year on the first day of summer, I say the best part about the day is that we're on our back to winter! And then I suffer through two more months of what is to me excessive heat. I'm your triplet. My toast to my kids and the sunset is always 'Back to the dark!" and they groan and say "don't say it!" right before... We balance eggs on end and eat grilled things over a fire, sometimes watch the sunset from a mountain. I have been planning a Solstice hike for months which was supposed to be starting at sunset on a western-facing mountain then walking overnight to greet the sunrise on an eastern-facing mountain but covid has ended that plan. Edited June 21, 2023 by Eos 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 10 hours ago, popmom said: The 21st is my birthday. 🙂 I get much more excited about solstice than my birthday. 😉 I don’t do anything to formally celebrate, but I should! Happy Birthday! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I am in Austria for the solstice this year. The cable cars ran late and we were able to go up on a mountain top and have a picnic. Then fires were lighted on the mountains. Not only were we able to enjoy the warmth of the fire where we were, but you could see many fire displays across the neighboring mountain ranges.. We had wine and hot cocoa at a mountain hut before descending back into the city; but many people were camping out overnight on the mountain. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Hopper Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I commemorated it with a heavy sigh that the daylight will now start falling shorter. It’s a sad realization at a time I feel summer is just getting started. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 16 hours ago, wintermom said: Growing up, we didn't celebrate the longest day of the year, though we certainly loved being outdoors in the super long, warm evening around late June. When I lived in Norway in the 1990s, I experienced the actual holiday of 'midsummer' in Sweden and Estonia. I believe that other countries, certainly in Europe, do have festivals or special events on or around the summer solstice. Anyone have any traditions? I still just love being outside in the light, long into the evening. That's about all the 'celebrating' I do,, but it is fun to mark the day. Our best friends are Estonian and we generally celebrate both with them annually.....once actually in Estonia. They are considered very important milestones in their extended family. The winter solstice is a bigger deal to them than Christmas. I never knew much about the solctices before but what's not to love about another excuse to celebrate? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Adding to this..... The winter solstice is especially a welcome time where I live. Our winters are very long, cold, and dark. By that date many people come to and leave work/school in the dark. So knowing that each day will be a little bit longer is a relief and something worth celebrating. I think that is something my region shares with the countries that tend to celebrate. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) Our women's circle celebrates the solstices with a retreat and ritual. Not always strictly on the actual day. I like celebrating the solstice - it is an objective astronomical event that takes place irrespective of one's religion or culture. Completely inclusive 🙂 Edited June 21, 2023 by regentrude 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 56 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said: I commemorated it with a heavy sigh that the daylight will now start falling shorter. It’s a sad realization at a time I feel summer is just getting started. I feel this too. People in my region tend to be on the low side of Vitamin D, and also have a lot of S.A.D. We don't get enough sunlight. the winter solstice is welcome.because it means we finally will start getting some sunlight again, and the spring equinox is a very happy time. I enjoy the month of June, and the solstice is a reminder that a still craving more sun body is going to get less and less. There garden is going to get less and less. It is sad. So we like to at least do something to acknowledge our end of glorious spring. Except this year it was a cold ridiculous spring. Not so glorious. 😥 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kidlets4me Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 One of these years I'm going to celebrate it at Stonehenge. This year I put on my wool socks, walked out to the patio to stand in the 50 degree gloom and sighed. Summer has not arrived here yet. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
math teacher Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 14 hours ago, GoVanGogh said: I celebrate the start of each season quietly in my garden, walking barefoot and documenting what is going on in the garden. That sounds peaceful and beautiful!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 @popmom Happy Birthday!! I hope you have a great day and even better year. I don't celebrate it and never have. It feels odd to me this year because I feel like summer is almost over, since it is almost July. My kids were officially done with school May 25th, but the last week was nothing for a few of them and very little for others, so it feels like we have been in summer break for a long time too. And I read this as a Midsummer Night's Dream celebration. I love that ballet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 15 hours ago, brehon said: Where I am it’s currently 103* with a heat index even higher. Tomorrow is more of the same. There are no outdoor celebrations happening here. There’s merely wondering what one did to deserve this hell on earth. 85 with a heat index of 95. That's the coolest it's been in a week with the lowest heat index. It's been in the mid 90s with the heat index in the low 100s. Summer solstice, like most seasonal events, is just a date on the calendar here. Summer (weather wise) has been in full swing since May and will last well past the autumn equinox. As for shorter days, they'll be barely noticeable. I hate DST and will be sad if it becomes permanent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 Happy Summer Solstice for those of us in this hemisphere! I'm going to celebrate this evening with some dog agility and afterwards put on the gas fireplace in the backyard (no actual fires allowed in my city). I'll probably feed a few dozen mosquitoes, drink something fun, and see when it gets dark. I think it will be close to 9:30 pm, which seems way to early! Growing up it was closer to 11pm, as it was way further north. Where I lived in Norway it was about midnight. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 I am a member of the American Contract Bridge League which celebrates The Longest Day by partnering with the Alzheimer's Association encouraging special bridge activities and fundraisers to benefit Alzheimer's Association from sunup to sundown. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
000000000 Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 (edited) . Edited September 10, 2023 by Petrova Fossil 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Seems the summer solstice is a popular birthday. I celebrated the summer solstice by having my second son 23 years ago. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 I think I'll recommend that those folks sweltering in the heat could plan a summer solstice trip north next year! ☺️ Enjoy the warm (NOT hot), super long daylight experience, along with super strong mosquitoes (weather dependent). If you can get yourself as far north as Alaska, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden or Finland, you'll have a really great extended evening. The further north you can get, the longer the light. Just remember that it also gets light a whole lot earlier in the morning, too. Like 3am. The light and the birds will wake you. 😉 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 3 hours ago, wintermom said: I think I'll recommend that those folks sweltering in the heat could plan a summer solstice trip north next year! ☺️ Enjoy the warm (NOT hot), super long daylight experience, along with super strong mosquitoes (weather dependent). If you can get yourself as far north as Alaska, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden or Finland, you'll have a really great extended evening. The further north you can get, the longer the light. Just remember that it also gets light a whole lot earlier in the morning, too. Like 3am. The light and the birds will wake you. 😉 Iceland. Go to Iceland. It is very much worth the trip! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Denmark is also fun! They celebrate on Sankt Hans Aften (St. John’s—the 23rd). København has the most events, but the beach bonfires in Skagen were awesome. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Faith-manor said: Iceland. Go to Iceland. It is very much worth the trip! My youngest has always wanted to go to Iceland. Her main reason for wanting to go there and possibly live there is that they have no mosquitos. I have no idea if this is true. If it is, then that's definitely where I'd want to go for summer solstice. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 53 minutes ago, popmom said: My youngest has always wanted to go to Iceland. Her main reason for wanting to go there and possibly live there is that they have no mosquitos. I have no idea if this is true. If it is, then that's definitely where I'd want to go for summer solstice. I do not remember a single mosquito. Hmmmmmmmm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 It’s 75F here this evening with a light breeze. We just finished grilling and we are about to light up our solo stove for s’mores. (It meets the contained fire guidelines for the burn ban.) Well wishes to all!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 3 hours ago, Faith-manor said: Iceland. Go to Iceland. It is very much worth the trip! Definitely! It's quite unique. Not many trees, but fascinating landscape, people and history. I had an opportunity to go on an outdoor education mini-course in Iceland with a group of Danes. We did a two-day Icelandic pony tour, three-day hike in the hills/mountains with natural hotsprings, plus a tour of some historical buildings and Reykiavik. It was fantastic! The language was close enough to some westcoast Norwegian dialects that I could understand a little - at least more than the Danes did. 2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: Denmark is also fun! They celebrate on Sankt Hans Aften (St. John’s—the 23rd). København has the most events, but the beach bonfires in Skagen were awesome. I love Denmark, too! I was fortunate to spend a couple summers in a couple different areas of Denmark on mini-courses at folk high schools. I love the Danes' openness to different cultures and art. I took an African drumming and dancing course for a few weeks. Loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Faith-manor said: I do not remember a single mosquito. Hmmmmmmmm I think that there are far fewer mosquitoes in Scandinavia. It's such a treat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 It was a lovely, relaxing evening watching the sun go down. My dd joined me by the gas-powered fire and we listened to some music and chatted. It got dark just before 10pm. Not too bad! Yes, there were a good number of mosquitoes, but the green coil campfire smudge worked pretty well to keep them away. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 8 hours ago, wintermom said: Definitely! It's quite unique. Not many trees, but fascinating landscape, people and history. I had an opportunity to go on an outdoor education mini-course in Iceland with a group of Danes. We did a two-day Icelandic pony tour, three-day hike in the hills/mountains with natural hotsprings, plus a tour of some historical buildings and Reykiavik. It was fantastic! The language was close enough to some westcoast Norwegian dialects that I could understand a little - at least more than the Danes did. I love Denmark, too! I was fortunate to spend a couple summers in a couple different areas of Denmark on mini-courses at folk high schools. I love the Danes' openness to different cultures and art. I took an African drumming and dancing course for a few weeks. Loved it! We rely on our middle son for Scandinavian language. In high school, he decided to study Icelandic. Hmmmm....how on earth is a homeschool mom going to pull off Icelandic? There wasn't a single college or university in Michigan that offered it. A long bit of searching on Google netted a couple of professors in England who were Icelandic, and willing to tutor him at a price we could just barely manage. He had lessons for two years before we went to Iceland which was kind of his language test in our eyes. He was great. But since everyone also spoke English for the most part, he had to actually request shopkeepers and tourist guides, the concierge, airport personnel, etc. use Icelandic with us. It was wonderful. Everyone is so friendly in Iceland! I would peg his reading and writing level at roughly 4th/5th grade though. It is so hard to get much beyond that in Icelandic studying from afar and no one to pracrice with. He took on Danish for his last two years of high school, and though his college did not offer it, found a couple of native born Danes here for college and they formed a trio of good friends. They are back home now, and he still spends time every week conversing with them through facebook, and also has some formal study he is doing as well. He will eventually take the Danish language exam in the hopes of going to grad school in Copenhagen. During this time, he also met a Norwegian couple living near campus, and he is passable, conversationally, in Norwegian but I do not think he reads and writes it much. He had mastered translating runes. It is fascinating to me. I kept one of his notebooks from college with short stories he had written in runes. When Mark retires, our goal is to take all of our kids to Denmark to meet their now distant relatives, and see the country. P will have his hands full as a guide and translator for 11 people because spouses/life partners and grandkids are going too. I can hardly wait! It is four years until he will consider retiring, and could be six if the early retirement package at his company doesn't include continuing insurance with them. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) For years I have thought about doing something but it ends up sneaking up on me and I have no plans; I note it at some point during the day and say "next year for sure." Last night my husband and I commemorated it by having a picnic dinner in the car (rainy evening) before a baroque concert in a historic home. (Here in the Philly area, we are covered up with historic homes.) During intermission we stepped outside and I remembered. Next year, for sure! Edited June 22, 2023 by marbel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 18 hours ago, wintermom said: I think I'll recommend that those folks sweltering in the heat could plan a summer solstice trip north next year! ☺️ Enjoy the warm (NOT hot), super long daylight experience, along with super strong mosquitoes (weather dependent). If you can get yourself as far north as Alaska, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada), Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden or Finland, you'll have a really great extended evening. The further north you can get, the longer the light. Just remember that it also gets light a whole lot earlier in the morning, too. Like 3am. The light and the birds will wake you. 😉 Ireland is on my bucket list so maybe I should plan a visit that includes the summer solstice. I do remember from a long ago visit to the UK that even in southeast England it stayed light until 10 or 10:30 in June. 15 hours ago, Faith-manor said: Iceland. Go to Iceland. It is very much worth the trip! Iceland would be amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.