The longest day in June. When is the longest day and shortest day of the year. Solstice types, traditions
The solstice is one of the two days of the year when the height of the sun above the horizon at noon is at its minimum or maximum. There are two solstices in a year - winter and summer.
In a day winter solstice the sun rises to its lowest point above the horizon.
In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22, which is when the shortest day and longest night occur. The moment of the solstice shifts every year, since the duration of the solar year does not coincide with calendar time.
In 2016, the winter solstice begins on December 21st. The sun, moving along the ecliptic, at this moment will reach the most distant position from the celestial equator towards the South Pole of the world. Astronomical winter will come in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, and summer will come in the Southern Hemisphere.
On this day, at the latitude of Moscow, the Sun rises above the horizon to a height of less than 11 degrees.
In these December days, beyond the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees north latitude), the polar night sets in, which does not necessarily mean complete darkness throughout the day. Its main feature is that the Sun does not rise above the horizon.
At the North Pole of the Earth, not only the Sun is not visible, but also twilight, and the location of the luminary can only be recognized by the constellations. A completely different picture in the region of the South Pole of the Earth - in Antarctica at this time the day lasts around the clock.
On December 21, the Sun crosses the 18 hour meridian and begins to rise up the ecliptic, starting the path to spring equinox when it crosses the celestial equator.
For thousands of years, the winter solstice has been of great importance for all the peoples of our planet, who lived in harmony with natural cycles and organized their lives in accordance with them. Since ancient times, people have revered the Sun, realizing that their life on earth depends on its light and warmth. For them, the winter solstice represented the victory of light over darkness.
So, in Russian folklore, a proverb is dedicated to this day: the sun - for the summer, winter - for the frost. Now the day will gradually increase, and the night will decrease. The winter solstice was used to judge the future harvest. In the old days, on this day they noticed: frost on the trees - to a rich harvest of grain.
In the 16th century in Rus', an interesting ritual was associated with the winter solstice. The bell warden of the Moscow cathedral, who was responsible for the chiming of the clock, came to bow to the tsar. He reported that from now on the sun turned to summer, the day is added, and the night is reduced. For this good news, the king rewarded the headman with money.
The ancient Slavs on the day of the winter solstice celebrated pagan New Year, he contacted the deity Kolyada. The main attribute of the festival was a bonfire, depicting and invoking the light of the sun, which, after the longest night of the year, had to rise higher and higher. The ritual New Year's cake - a loaf - also resembled the sun in shape.
In Europe, these days began a 12-day cycle of pagan festivities dedicated to the winter solstice, which marked the beginning of a new life and the renewal of nature.
On the day of the winter solstice in Scotland it was customary to launch the sun wheel - the "solstice". The barrel was smeared with burning tar and let down the street. The wheel is a symbol of the sun, the spokes of the wheel resembled rays, the rotation of the spokes during movement made the wheel alive and looked like a luminary.
The winter solstice earlier than all other seasons was determined in China (in Chinese calendar 24 seasons). In ancient China, it was believed that from this time on, the male force of nature rises and a new cycle begins. The winter solstice was considered a happy day worthy of celebration. On this day, everyone - from the emperor to the commoner - went on vacation. The army was brought into a state of waiting for orders, border fortresses and trading shops were closed, people went to visit each other, gave gifts. The Chinese made sacrifices to the god of Heaven and ancestors, and also ate porridge made from beans and sticky rice to protect themselves from evil spirits and diseases. Until now, the winter solstice is considered one of the traditional Chinese holidays.
Annually last Saturday in March carried out all over the world environmental action "Earth Hour organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).The meaning of the action is in voluntary refusal to consume electrical energy within one hour. Thus, society is aware of the importance of taking measures to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment.
For the first time this great idea was implemented in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Then about two million residents of the metropolis took part in the action, and energy savings amounted to about 10%.
Inspired by the example, every year more and more new cities began to join the action "Earth Hour". It is expected that in 2020, residents of more than 7 thousand settlements of our planet (more than 2 billion people) will take part in a voluntary power outage for 1 hour. Among the countries participating in the action, of course, there is Russia.
What date and time is Earth Hour 2020:
As we wrote above, the event is held annually last Saturday in March, except in those years when the last Saturday in March comes before Easter.This year's Earth Hour is scheduled for Saturday. March 28, 2020. Promotion will start at 20:30 local time and will last for an hour, until 21:30.
That is, the action Earth Hour 2020 - what date is held and what time:
* Event date - March 28, 2020
* from 20:30 to 21:30 local time.
After the longest day comes the shortest night. According to old Slavic beliefs, it was a magical time: the strength of useful plants increased many times over, suitors were certainly shown to the girls who gave fortune. Swimming before this day was strictly forbidden, as it was believed that in the water. On the summer solstice, the devils left the water until the beginning of August, so they bathed and doused themselves with water all day.
When pagan traditions were supplanted by Christian ones, this holiday was called the day of John the Baptist. And since John baptized by dipping in water, it turned out to be the day of Ivan Kupala. Planted on the fertile soil of ancient beliefs, the holiday has taken root and has come down to our days as a dousing.
In the old calendar, the summer solstice and Ivanov's day coincided, but according to the new style, the holiday has shifted to July 7th.
Winter solstice
After the summer solstice, the day begins. Gradually, the Sun reaches its lowest point of ascent. In the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year occurs on December 21 or 22, and in the Southern Hemisphere on June 20 or 21, depending on whether it is a leap year or not. After the longest night, the countdown begins - now the day will begin to arrive before the summer solstice, and after it - again decrease to the winter one.The winter solstice was celebrated even in primitive communities, when, before the long winter, people slaughtered all the cattle that they could not feed, and arranged a feast. Later this day received a different meaning - the awakening of life. The most famous holiday of the solstice is the medieval Yule among the Germanic peoples. On the night after which the sun begins to rise higher, fires were burned in the fields, crops and trees were consecrated, and cider was brewed.
In Greek mythology, the lord of the underworld, Hades, was allowed to visit Olympus only two days a year - on the summer and winter solstices.
Later, Yule merged with the celebration of Christmas, adding pagan traditions to Christian traditions - for example, kissing under the mistletoe.
The moment of the solstice shifts every year, since the duration of the solar year does not coincide with calendar time.
In 2016, the winter solstice begins on December 21st. The sun, moving along the ecliptic, at this moment will reach the most distant position from the celestial equator towards the South Pole of the world. Astronomical winter will come in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In these December days, beyond the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees north latitude), the polar night sets in, which does not necessarily mean complete darkness throughout the day. Its main feature is that the Sun does not rise above the horizon.
At the North Pole of the Earth, not only the Sun is not visible, but also twilight, and the location of the luminary can only be recognized by the constellations. A completely different picture in the region of the South Pole of the Earth: in Antarctica at this time the day lasts around the clock. On December 21, the Sun crosses the 18 hour meridian and begins to rise up the ecliptic, beginning its journey to the vernal equinox when it crosses the celestial equator.
Different cultures interpreted the winter solstice in different ways, but most peoples perceived it as a rebirth, setting the beginning of a new one. At this time, holidays, meetings were held, appropriate rituals were held, festivities were organized with songs and dances.
The solstice and equinox were among the most revered days among the ancient Slavs, as they personified the incarnations of Dazhbog. The Slavs considered this holiday a time of renewal and birth of the sun, and with it all living things, a time of spiritual transformation, a time conducive to both good material changes and spiritual ones. The night that precedes the winter solstice was considered the patroness of all nights.
During the winter solstice, the Slavs celebrated the pagan New Year, which was personified with the deity Kolyada. The main subject of the festival was a large fire, calling and depicting the sun, which, after one of the longest nights of the year, was supposed to rise higher and higher into the heavenly heights. It was also obligatory to bake ritual New Year's pies of a rounded shape, reminiscent of a heavenly body.
In Europe, pagan festivities launched a 12-day cycle of magnificent festivities that marked the beginning of the renewal of nature and the beginning of a new life.
In Scotland, there was a tradition to start a burning wheel, symbolizing the solstice. The barrel was abundantly smeared with resin, set on fire and launched down the hill, resembling a fiery luminary with rotating movements.
In China, the winter solstice was a worthy celebration, as it was considered a happy day. The inhabitants of the country performed rites and rituals to protect themselves from diseases and evil spirits. The winter solstice is still one of the Chinese traditional holidays.
Hindus call the winter solstice Sankranti. The holiday was celebrated in both Sikh and Hindu communities, where at night, on the eve of the festival, bonfires were lit, the flame of which resembled the rays of the Sun, which warm the earth after a cold winter.
The shortest day of the year is December 21 or 22 (depending on the shift in the calendar). It has a special name - "Winter Solstice Day". This is the day of the shortest daylight hours (only 5 hours 53 minutes) and the longest night. From the next day, as you know, it begins to gradually increase. In scientific terms, this is due to the fact that the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation relative to the Sun takes on a maximum value.
In many cultures this day has always been significant event always associated with rebirth. For example, in primitive culture, the beginning of the Solstice was not exactly a joyful day, it was more associated with the onset of hunger. Because primitive people did not really know how much stock they needed to prepare for times of cold weather. In the Early Middle Ages, this was a holiday, as beer and wine were mostly matured by mid-December.
Longest day of the year
The longest day of the year occurs on June 21 or 20. You have probably already noticed that it is light outside even at 23:00. True, then, as with the “winter”, daylight hours begin to slowly decrease, this becomes noticeable already in August.
AT modern world the days of the winter and summer solstices are not a holiday, but a lot of traditions have been preserved to this day. For example, carols beloved by children were originally dedicated on December 20, only then they migrated to the post-Christmas weeks until Epiphany (January 19). In ancient Egypt summer solstice the priests were of great importance. In Russia, the holiday is better known as Ivan Kupala Day, when the celebrants bathe, jump over bonfires, guess and look for fern branches (which, according to legend, bloom on this particular holiday).
It is difficult to observe the solstice due to the fact that the sun is slowly moving towards its point. Only very recently have scientists begun to determine the exact time of an event down to the instant.