June 20th or 21st is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and many will experience the longest day of the year as far as hours of daylight. Of course in the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of winter.

The further north you travel from the equator, the more hours of daylight there are at this time of year with some northern parts receiving almost a full 24 hours of at least some degree of daylight. In some northern latitudes, the sun will not set for up to 73 days. If you think you have a sleep disorder problem, try living in Finland!

The flip side of this of course are the days and days with endless darkness or near darkness during the winter months.

But getting back to summer solstice, did you know that the word solstice is derived from two Latin words? “Sol” which means sun and “sistere,” which means literally “to stand still.” In Northern latitudes, the sun can appear to be “standing still” in the sky.

I hope you are enjoying Summer Solstice!

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