Celebrating the longest day of the year

Happy first (official) day of summer, y’all. Not only is Lake Murray bustling and the Riverwalk packed with bikers + joggers – but it’s also the summer solstice.

What is the summer solstice, you ask? It’s when the sun is at its highest point – giving us the most hours of sunlight during the entire year (15 hours to be exact, with twilight visible from 5:43 a.m. until 8:59 p.m.).

While you probably recognize that today is “longest day of the year,” here are some summer solstice facts that you may not be as familiar with:

☀ The word “solstice” is derived from the Latin words “sol,” meaning sun, and “stitium,” meaning to stop. This makes sense, as the sun stops moving further north on this day.

☀ During the summer solstice, the Earth is at its farthest point from the sun – not the closest.

☀ During the summer solstice, higher high tides may occur because of the increased angle of the sun.

☀ Many refer to the summer solstice as “Midsummer.”
☀ The sun will reach its highest point in the sky at 6:07 a.m.
☀ During the summer solstice, higher high tides may occur– because of the increased angle of the sun.
☀ Around the globe, the solstice has been celebrated as a way to mark when to plant + harvest crops, a time to set intentions for new beginnings, to predict annual flooding, and, on ancient Greek calendars– the summer solstice marked the start of a new year.
☀ Vikings held meetings to resolve disputes on the solstice.
☀ The world’s biggest bonfire was part of a summer solstice celebration in 2010. The flames of the fire, built in Alesund, Norway, reached 132.41 ft.
☀ Each year, thousands of people gather at England’s Stonehenge to honor the solstice. (In 2017, 37,000 people visited the site on that day). While it has not been proven– many speculate that the prehistoric world heritage site has been a place of worship during the summer solstice for thousands of years– due to the view of the sunrise directly above the Heel Stone at the time of the solstice.

☀ In Alaska, the solstice is celebrated with a midnight baseball game, known as the Midnight Sun Game.

☀ In yoga, the sun salutation was originally created to, well, ‘salute the sun’. On solstices and equinoxes, it is common for yogis to practice 108 sun salutations (the significance of the number 108 is still up for interpretation).
☀ During the summer solstice, the Earth is at its farthest point from the sun– not the closest.

Photo by @demmy525

Celebrate the longest day of the year by floating on the river or dining al fresco on a porch or patio at a local restaurant. Bierkeller Columbia is hosting a beer garden party at Columbia Riverfront Park from 5-9 p.m. If you’re feeling active, sign up for the Summer Solstice Race. Make Music Columbia + the Southeastern Piano Festival will be hosting events all day for the musically-inclined folks. Even the Columbia Fireflies game will recognize Make Music Day, celebrating the longest day with an instrumental play.

We want to see how y’all are celebrating the first day of summer. Share your fun-in-the-sun with our team by using #COLAtoday on your social media posts today + all summer long.

–Beth with help from the CHStoday team

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