Summer - Are you ready?

Summer is one of the four temperate season. It is characteristic with hot and often dry weather. In many countries it is the time of school and university holidays. Different definitions of the start and end days prevail. Astronomically, summer begins with the summer solstice (around 21june in the Northern hemisphere, and 21 December in the Southern hemisphere) and ends with the autumn equinox (around 21 September in the Northern hemisphere and 21 March in the Southern hemisphere). In meteorology, summer is defined by convention as the whole months of June, July and August in the Northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the Southern hemisphere. Solstice Solstice is derived from two Latin words: sol meaning sun, and sistere, to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it stands still. Why does the summer solstice happen? The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is taken place. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. Another terms for summer soltice The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day,Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc. Significance of the summer solstice: In pre-historic times, summer was a joyous time of the year for those Aboriginal people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared-the ground had thawed out-warm temperatures had returned- flowers were blooming- leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses.Food was easier to find. The crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come soon. The first or only full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives. This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the grand (sexual) unio" of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony- The Honeymoon. Midsummer celebrations in ancient and modern times: Ancient Celts: Druids, the priestly, professional, diplomatic corps in Celtic countries, celebrated Alban Heruin (Light of the Shore). It was midway between the spring Equinox (Alban Eiler- Light of the Earth) and the fall Equinox (Alban Elfed-Light of the Water). This midsummer festival celebrates the apex of Light, sometimes symbolized in the  crowning of the Oak King, God of the waxing year. At his crowning, the Oak King falls to his darker aspect, the Holly King, God of the waning year. The days following Alban Heruin form the waning part of the year because the days become shorter. Ancient China: Their summer solstice ceremony celebrated the earth, the feminine, and the yin forces-complementing the winter solstice which celebrated the heavens, masculinity and yang forces. Ancient Gaul: The Midsummer celebration was called Feast of Epona, named after a mare goddess who personified fertility, sovereignty and agriculture. She was portrayed as a woman riding a mare. Ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes in Europe: Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires. It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames. It was believed that the crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire's power maidens would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were banished. Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic giving a boost to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest.  Ancient Rome: The festival of Vestalia held from JUN-7 to JUN-15. It was held in honor of the Roman Goddess of the hearth, Vesta. Married women were able to enter the shrine of Vesta during the festival. At other times of the year, only the vestal virgins were permitted inside. Ancient Sweden: A Midsummer tree was set up and decorated in each town. The villagers danced around it. Women and girls would customarily bathe in the local river. This was a magical ritual, intended to bring rain for the crops. Essenes: This was a Jewish religious group active in Palestine during the 1st century CE. It was one of about 24 Jewish groups in the country and the only one that used a solar calendar. Other Jewish groups at the time included the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, followers of John, and followers of Yeshua (Jesus). Archeologists have found that the largest room of the ruins at Qumran, location of the Dead Sea Scrolls, appears to be a sun temple.The room had been considered a dining room by earlier investigators, in spite of the presence of two altars at its eastern end. At the time of the summer solstice,the rays of the setting sun shine at 286 degrees along the building's longitudinal axis, and illuminate the eastern wall. The room is oriented at exactly the same angle as the Egyptian shrines dedicated to the sun.Two ancient authorities - the historian Josephus and the philosopher Filon of Alexandria had written that the Essenes were sun worshipers.  The Natchez tribe in the southern U.S. worshiped the sun and believed that their ruler was descended from him.Every summer they held a first fruits ceremony. Nobody was allowed to harvest the corn until the feast. Males in the Hopi tribe dressed up as Kachinas - the dancing spirits of rain and fertility who were messengers between humanity and the Gods. At Midsummer, the Kachinas were believed to leave the villages to spend the next six months in the mountains, where they were believed to visit the dead underground and hold ceremonies on their behalf.Native Americans have created countless stone structures linked to equinoxes and solstices. Many are still standing. Its modern-day finder called one Calendar One. It is in a natural amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont.From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl "At the summer solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the west ridge." The winter solstice and the equinoxes were similarly marked.  Males in the Hopi tribe dressed up as Kachinas - the dancing spirits of rain and fertility who were messengers between humanity and the Gods. At Midsummer, the Kachinas were believed to leave the villages to spend the next six months in the mountains, where they were believed to visit the dead underground and hold ceremonies on their behalf.  Native Americans have created countless stone structures linked to equinoxes and solstices. Many are still standing. Its modern-day finder called one Calendar One. It is in a natural amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl "At the summer solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the west ridge." The winter solstice and the equinoxes were similarly marked.  The Bighorn Medicine Wheel west of Sheridan, WY is perhaps the most famous of the 40 or more similar "wheels" on the high plains area of the Rocky Mountains. Mostly are located in Canada. At Bighorn, the center of a small cairn, that is external to the main wheel, lines up with the center of the wheel and the sun rising at the summer equinox. Another similar sighting cairn provides a sighting for three dawn-rising stars-Aldebaran, Rigel and Sirius. A third cairn lines up with fourth star- Fomalhaut. Europeans coined the term "medicine wheel". it was a term used to describe anything native that white people didn't understand.  Neopaganism: This is a group of religions, which are attempted re-constructions of ancient Pagan religions. Of these, Wicca is the most common. It is loosely based partly on ancient Celtic beliefs and practices. Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other is major sabbats which happen approximately halfway between an equinox and solstice. The summer solstice sabbat is often called Midsummer or Litha. Wiccans may celebrate the sabbat on the evening before, at sunrise on the morning of the solstice, or at the exact time of the astronomical event.Midsummer is the time when the sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest. The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the God is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme sun.It is a time for divination and healing rituals. Divining rods and wands are traditionally cut at this time. Prehistoric Europe: Many remains of ancient stone structures can be found throughout Europe. Some date back many millennia BCE. Many appear to have religious and astronomical purposes while others are burial tombs. These structures were built before writing was developed. One can only speculate on the significance of the summer solstice to the builders. Perhaps the most famous of these structures is Stonehenge, a megalith monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It was built in three stages, between circa 3000 and 1500BCE. "The circular bank and ditch, double circle of 'bluestones' (spotted dolerite), and circle of sarsen stones (some with white lintels), are concentric, and the main axis is aligned on the midsummer sunrise--an orientation that was probably for ritual rather than scientific purposes. Four "station stones" within the monument form a rectangle whose shorter side also points in the direction of the midsummer sunrise.  Some identical terms  Heat wave: prolonged period of excessive heat and humidity. The National Weather Service steps up its procedures to alert the public during these periods of excessive heat and humidity. Heat index: A number in degrees Fahrenheit that tells how hot it really feels when relative humidity is added to the actual air temperature. Exposure to full sunshine can increase the heat index by 15 degrees F. Heat cramps: Heat cramps are muscular pains and spasms due to heavy exertion. They usually involve the abdominal muscles or legs. It is generally thought that the loss of water from heavy sweating causes the cramps. Heat exhaustion: Heat exhaustion typically occurs when people exercise heavily or work in a warm humid place where body fluids are lost through heavy sweating. Blood flow to the skin increases, causing blood flow to decrease to the vital organs. This results in a form of mild shock. If not treated, the victim's condition will worsen. Body temperature will keep rising and the person may suffer heatstroke. Heatstroke: Heatstroke is life-threatening. A person's temperature control system, which produces sweating to cool the body, stops working. The body temperature can rise so high that brain damage and death may result if the body is not cooled quickly. Sunstroke: Another term for heatstroke.