Celebrate the summer solstice: rituals, traditions and activities

Scientifically the summer solstice occurs when the sun is at the highest point in the sky, which is “when one of Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun”. Technically, it is also considered as the longest day of the year. It usually takes place on June 20 or 21, depending on the year, as the astronomical year is not in whole days but represents 365.25 days.

The linguistic meaning of solstice is “sun standing still” in Latin, and this is probably why the summer solstice is the day of the year when there is the most daylight. But how many hours of natural sunlight does that represent? Well, that depends on where you are situated. It can be between 12 and 24 hours of sunlight, depending on your location. The luckiest people are those north of the Arctic Circle, as the sun stays above the horizon throughout the day.

This is our selection of the best places to enjoy the longest day in the northern part of the world:

Stonehenge, England

The historic monument in southern England, located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, comes to life at the time of the summer solstice. Indeed, this day is crucial for the prehistoric structure, as it was built in order to organise rituals and ceremonies to mark the change of season. During these important times, standing stones were used to align with the sun on solstices.

Nowadays, during this special period, visitors have the opportunity to celebrate and walk along the stones, with a closer look than usual visitors during the rest of the year. This unusual night welcomes all types of visitors to this World Heritage site, residents, tourists but also druids and all sun worshippers, to experience this unique ritual.

As visitors are allowed to spend the night on the sacred site, this year, they will first witness sunset at 9:26 pm (GMT+1) on June 20, then celebrate inside the stone circle with some acoustic songs while awaiting sunrise at 4:51 am (GMT+1) on June 21, 2024.

In general, the Charity English Heritage is keen to share this events with as many people as possible around the world by broadcasting the solstice sunset and sunrise live on its Youtube channel, so you can watch it at home.

Scandinavia

The Scandinavian countries - Norway, Finland and Sweden - are best known for their cold days and lack of sunshine in winter, but they are also famous for their midnight suns in summer.

This phenomenon only occurs south of the Antarctic Circle and north of the Arctic Circle, as the earth's axis in relation to the sun allows the latter to remain above the horizon. Thus, the sky never darkens.

This is the perfect opportunity to spend the summer solstice in Scandinavia, as not only will you experience the longest day of the year, but the sunshine will last longer than in other destinations.

You may wonder why you would need so much sun at night, well, thanks to it, you can do almost anything at any time, from hiking to golfing to attending a solstice festival. However you can also simply enjoy the natural beauty of the situation by photographing the midnight sun, as it looks like a sunset around midnight and gives spectacular colours to the sky.

If you want to make sure you don't miss this phenomenon, it's not visible from anywhere in Scandinavia. Actually, you'll have to go to the northern part of these countries. Thus, you'll have to visit places like Norway's Lofoten Island known for its incredible wilderness and landscapes, or Abisko in Sweden, a village surrounded by mountains. Other destinations would be the famous Finnish town of Rovaniemi, where you can get close to nature, and Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago located between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

Sweden

As well as experiencing the midnight sun, you can also celebrate Midsummer's Day. This festival is a celebration of the summer solstice in Sweden, celebrated throughout the country. Although it doesn't always take place on the actual day of the solstice, it does take place on a Friday near this time, between June 19 and 25. Considered a special night, this day was also first celebrated to welcome the summer and fertility season.

So be sure to celebrate as the Swedes do, following their traditions throughout the day. For example, you should start by picking flowers and making wreaths. You can also arrive wearing a Swedish folk costume if you wish. Swedes usually spend this time with friends and family, gathering in the countryside to get closer to nature. You can do the same thing by renting a lake house, for example, and heading off with your loved ones to Dalarna County.

Nestled in central Sweden, this is an idyllic spot where many Swedes decide to spend this period, thanks to its incredible natural scenery. But one thing is sure wherever you are and with whomever you’ll want to follow the ritual by singing and dancing around a large decorated wooden pole, known as the maypole.