When you wake up on Monday, June 20, you will be greeted by the first official day of summer and the year’s longest day.
The summer solstice is the annual date in June which brings the longest daylight hours and shortest night. This year, Vancouver’s longest day will include 16 hours and 15 minutes of daylight with the sun rising at 5:07 a.m. and setting at 9:22 p.m.
In parts further north, the sun will not set at all.
In Alert, Nunavut – Canada’s North Pole – the sun has been in the sky since April 5 and won’t go down until September 5. In Fort Nelson, one of B.C.’s most northern towns, the longest day of the year means the sun comes up at 3:59 a.m. and sets at 10:26 p.m.
Those enjoying the long sunny evenings can credit the sun’s position in the sky for the extra vitamin D. During the summer solstice, the sun is shifted closest to the earth than any other time during the year. In contrast, during the winter solstice in December, the sun is furthest away causing the least amount of daylight hours.
Back in Canada’s North Pole, the sun will go down on October 14 and not return until February 27.
Celebrating the summer solstice
Around the world, different cultures have summer solstice celebrations embedded in their histories.
- B.C. Conservative leader pledges not to ‘reopen the abortion debate’
- A look inside the now-sidelined ‘floatel’ meant to house LNG workers near Squamish
- South Surrey restaurant forced to close after suspicious fire, more criminal acts reported
- Canfor to shutter B.C. sawmill, curtail Prince George pulp mill
In the U.K., thousands congregate at Stonehenge, the prehistoric rock formation in Wiltshire, England. The monument, which is estimated to have been built around 5,000 years ago, is perfectly aligned to show the rising sun pierce through the rock pillars on the longest day of the year.
Austrians celebrate the solstice with mountain-top bonfires, dating back to the medieval days.
In Sweden, ‘midsommar’ is rung in with flower wreaths and crowns, pickled and cured foods, and a dance around a decorated maypole covered in greenery and flowers.
New York combines the U.N.’s International Yoga Day and summer solstice with a day-long yoga session in the middle of Times Square from early morning to sunset. The event has been occurring for the last 13 years.
The solstice also creates what has been dubbed ‘Manhattenhenge’ where the setting sun is aligned with the 42nd Street grid for three weeks before and after solstice.
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