# It's the Summer Solstice. Now What Happens? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2019, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880 "2019-06-22T06:26:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/1 "2019-06-22T06:26:43Z")
As I write this, the Summer solstice has passed. My question is simply, now what happens? I used to think the season of Summer began on the solstice. But local weathermen say no. It actually begins (for them at least) on June 1st. So what happens on the solstice, then? I know the days get shorter. But that is all I know. What else does it signify? And what else can be tied to the date? :):):)šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_Raygun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c67d28/32.png) [@Ronald\_Raygun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_Raygun)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/2 "2019-06-22T06:34:10Z")
Lana Del Rey was born on the 1985 solstice. Perfect music to ring in Cancer season. Iā€™m celebrating. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/3 "2019-06-22T07:21:10Z")
According to my chart, this year, on June 20th and 21st the length of daylight has reached it maximum. Sunrise reaches its earliest time on the 11th and slowly gets later after the 21st. Sunset is at its latest from the 20th through July 1st. So the solstice marks what is consistently the greatest length of daylight for most of the northern hemisphere above the tropics. The chart I go by was generated by a US Navy web page, which no longer seems to be there. As it was generated for my specific location, the numbers I use may not be the same for you. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/4 "2019-06-22T10:49:18Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The chart I go by was generated by a US Navy web page, which no longer seems to be there. As it was generated for my specific location, the numbers I use may not be the same for you. Hereā€™s a [link](https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php) to the starting UNO sunrise/sunset (and more) page. One fun thing to see is how due to the Earthā€™s orbit being eliptical and aphelion comes around July 4th the dates of earliest sunrise/latest sunset donā€™t occur exactly at the solstice. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/5 "2019-06-22T13:12:53Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > ā€¦I know the days get shorter. ā€¦ Hey, thatā€™s plenty in my book. _\_ ā€œSummer! Donā€™t go! I miss you already!ā€ \*\<\*\*ThelmaLou \*_drops to her knees\>_ ā€œStaaaaaay!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/6 "2019-06-22T13:32:12Z")
Itā€™s not yet officially summer for me. Schoolā€™s out, Iā€™ve eaten both watermelon and mulberries, Iā€™ve heard ice-cream trucks, and Iā€™ve done a weekā€™s laundry in two loads instead of three, but I still havenā€™t seen any lightning bugs. Until I finish the checklist, itā€™s not summer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/7 "2019-06-22T13:45:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Itā€™s not yet officially summer for me. Schoolā€™s out, Iā€™ve eaten both watermelon and mulberries, Iā€™ve heard ice-cream trucks, and Iā€™ve done a weekā€™s laundry in two loads instead of three, but I still havenā€™t seen any lightning bugs. Until I finish the checklist, itā€™s not summer. But have you danced naked in the pale moonlight? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/8 "2019-06-22T14:48:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > But have you danced naked in the pale moonlight? Well, Iā€™ve danced beneath the diamond sky With one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea Circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate Driven deep beneath the waves ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/9 "2019-06-22T15:00:39Z")
Summer breeze makes me feel fine ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/10 "2019-06-22T15:03:21Z")
Bring on the night. I couldnā€™t stand another hour of daylight. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/11 "2019-06-22T15:04:46Z")
I am going to a big party, with a bonfire, singing and clothing optional bonfire dancing - so very summer solstice-y. It should be fun, as long as I wear enough sunblock and bug spray. I like the renewal feeling of it - looking ahead, embracing the summer seasonā€¦looking forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/12 "2019-06-22T16:04:17Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Bring on the night. I couldnā€™t stand another hour of daylight. I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, last July. You would not have liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/13 "2019-06-22T16:38:29Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, last July. You would not have liked it. Yeah, I spent one summer solstice in Fairbanks. It just _never_ got dark. The sun dipped just below the horizon for maybe 70 minutes and popped back up again. Went to bed at 10:30 PM, woke with the clock saying 11:45 and saw the light of day outside, was sure I overslept and missed the bus to the river tour. But it was 11:45 PM. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/14 "2019-06-22T16:41:02Z")
[**Norway islanders want to go ā€˜time-freeā€™ when sun doesnā€™t set**](https://www.apnews.com/7cc745c6db794cd789b81e25baa5b8d7) > [@](#): > > COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ā€” Residents of a Norwegian island where the sun doesnā€™t set for 69 days of the year want to go ā€œtime-freeā€ and have more flexible school and working hours to make the most of their long summer days. > > People on the island of Sommaroey are pushing to get rid of traditional business hours and ā€œconventional time-keepingā€ during the midnight sun period that lasts from May 18 to July 26, resident Kjell Ove Hveding said Wednesday. > ā€¦ > > Sommaroey, which lies north of the Arctic Circle, stays dark from November to January. The idea behind the time-free zone is that disregarding timepieces would make it easier for residents, especially students, employers and workers, to make the most of the precious months when the opposite is true. > > Going off the clock ā€œis a great solution but we likely wonā€™t become an entirely time-free zone as it will be too complex,ā€ Hveding said. ā€œBut we have put the time element on the agenda, and we might get more flexibility ā€¦ to adjust to the daylight.ā€ > > ā€¦ Take THAT, Daylight Savings Time! Fold it five ways and stick it where the sun donā€™tā€¦ _oh, wait_ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/15 "2019-06-22T16:44:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yeah, I spent one summer solstice in Fairbanks. It just _never_ got dark. The sun dipped just below the horizon for maybe 70 minutes and popped back up again. Went to bed at 10:30 PM, woke with the clock saying 11:45 and saw the light of day outside, was sure I overslept and missed the bus to the river tour. But it was 11:45 PM. :smack: That happened to me when I was with a tour group in Scotland on the Summer Solstice. Woke up at 3:00 am with the sun shining in, convinced I had missed the bus! I figured out thatā€™s why, in all those British movies, the rooms have heavy curtains that the maid opens when she brings in the heroā€™s morning cup of tea-in-bed. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/16 "2019-06-22T16:54:47Z")
Seems to me there is a nude bicycle ride associated with it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/17 "2019-06-22T16:55:24Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > I am going to a big party, with a bonfire, singing and clothing optional bonfire dancing - so very summer solstice-y. It should be fun, as long as I wear enough sunblock and bug spray. [Man Remembers It Summer Solstice After Noticing Group Of Pagans Fucking In Ring Of Fire On Way To Work](https://local.theonion.com/man-remembers-it-summer-solstice-after-noticing-group-o-1835738374) ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/18 "2019-06-22T16:59:10Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, last July. You would not have liked it. I guess I had in mind the fact that now the days will begin getting shorter instead of longer at ~45 deg N.Latitude. So Iā€™ve got that to look forward to. šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/19 "2019-06-22T17:27:52Z")
I work in a store owned by observant Jewish people, and on Fridays we have to close two hours before sundown for Shabbos. Yesterday it was 6 p.m. Now the Friday work schedule gets earlier and earlier, to be at 2:00 on the winter solstice. ETA: The ancient Celtic pagans, who set up the first solar calendar, put the equinoxes and solstices in the middle of the seasons. So summer (Beltane) ran from May 1st to July 31st. The day of the summer solstice was called Litha. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880/20 "2019-06-22T18:18:21Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I work in a store owned by observant Jewish people, and on Fridays we have to close two hours before sundown for Shabbos. Yesterday it was 6 p.m. > > Now the Friday work schedule gets earlier and earlier, to be at 2:00 on the winter solstice. > > ETA: The ancient Celtic pagans, who set up the first solar calendar, put the equinoxes and solstices in the middle of the seasons. So summer (Beltane) ran from May 1st to July 31st. The day of the summer solstice was called Litha. Makes more sense really. Why do we call June 21 the beginning of summer when itā€™s really the midpoint of summer, for example? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-summer-solstice-now-what-happens/835880.md?page=2)