Summer Solstice 2022: What's the deal with the longest day and shortest night of the year?
Created: 06/21/2022, 05:09
By: Jennifer Battaglia
The longest day of the year falls again on June 21 in 2022 - that's the summer solstice.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
The summer solstice marks the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Cultures around the world have been celebrating this day for thousands of years.
The summer solstice, also known as the solstice or solstice, marks the moment when the sun reaches its highest midday height above the horizon.
From an astrological point of view, this marks the beginning of summer.
The day is always the longest of the year, followed by the shortest night.
For millennia, the summer solstice has begun with festivals and rituals.
In Germany, numerous midsummer bonfires burn every year.
In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice falls between June 20th and 22nd each year.
Munich – In 2022, the longest day of the year will again be June 21 – at least in the northern hemisphere.
At 11:13 a.m. Central European Time, the sun then reaches its highest midday height above the horizon.
It's summer solstice.
While summer begins for meteorologists on June 1st, the summer solstice marks the beginning of summer from an astrological point of view.
The shortest night follows the longest day of the year.
Summer solstice is celebrated in different cultures
Celebrating the summer solstice is a tradition that goes back thousands of years.
To this day, the longest day of the year is celebrated with various rituals and customs.
Every year, several thousand people flock to Stonehenge to witness the solstice at the most famous stone circle in the world.
In Scandinavia, people celebrate the summer solstice with the so-called "midsummer" - they celebrate the longest day of the year with fires, music and selected foods.
Midsummer is one of the most famous holidays in Sweden.
There maypoles are decorated and set up around which people dance and sing.
At the summer solstice numerous fires are kindled in Germany
In Germany, the summer solstice is celebrated with numerous solstice bonfires.
They are also called St. John's bonfires because the birth of John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24th.
In the Alps alone, hundreds of mountain bonfires, some with very different motives, burn on the summer solstice.
From a distance you can see crosses, hearts or inscriptions.
Already in the Middle Ages such fires were kindled in the Bavarian and Tyrolean Alps to welcome the summer.
In this way they wanted to strengthen the sun and protect people and animals from harm.
Read here where the most beautiful midsummer bonfires are in Bavaria.
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In addition to the summer solstice, there is also the winter solstice
In addition to the summer solstice, there is also a winter solstice every year.
Then the sun is at its lowest midday height above the horizon.
In the northern hemisphere it always takes place between December 21st and 22nd.
