Unlike Memorial Day, which marks the unofficial beginning of summer, the summer solstice is the real deal, according to science.
Solstice (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice takes place between June 20 and 22. This year it’s on Thursday, June 21. As the longest day of the year, it is the tipping point of when the days get shorter, and the nights get longer.
As solstices happen twice annually, the winter solstice is between December 20 and 22.
Famously, the prehistoric monument Stonehenge shows how carefully our ancestors watched the sun. The structure has its stones positioned just so, so they are aligned with sunrises on the two annual solstices. Stonehenge was built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C. and its purpose remains under study.
However, it’s known that if you stand in just the right place inside the Stonehenge monument on the day of the northern summer solstice, facing north-east through the entrance towards a rough stone outside the circle – known as the Heel Stone – you will see the sun rise above the Heel Stone.
Stonehenge always draws a big crowd. As many as 35,000 people gather at the monument to watch the sunrise on the longest day of the year. BBC’s coverage of the event included an interview with solstice enthusiasts, who said, “We believe it is very important for people to move with the cycles of nature, and actually feel them. If you get up early in the morning and you watch that special sunrise, you’ve been a part of it. The rest of the year is shaped by that.”
But if you have to miss the shenanigans at Stonehenge, because you’re too lazy/busy to across that tiny pond called the Atlantic Ocean, there’s nothing like these memes that will set you up for the rest of the year.
Check it out.
Summer Solstice 2018: Memes, Funny Photos, Jokes and Images
