After the bleakness of winter and a mixed spring, summer has finally brought with an upsurge in the weather in the UK.
The UK saw its hottest day of the year for the third day running on 17 June, with temperatures climbing above 32C in some areas.
It came just ahead of the longest day of the year, known as the summer solstice, which is considered by many to mark the start of the season.
Also known as midsummer, it has prompted fascination and celebration for many cultures since prehistory – here’s everything you need to know.
When is the summer solstice?
In 2022, the summer solstice falls on Tuesday 21 June, the same date as last year, although it can be any date between 20 and 22 of the month.
According to the website Time and Date, on the year’s longest day the sun will rise in London at 4.43am, and set at 9.21pm, delivering 16 hours, 38 minutes and 22 seconds of daylight.
The summer solstice marks the beginning of summer by the astronomical calculation, with the season lasting until the autumnal equinox, which this year lands on Friday 23 September.
Alternatively, the simpler meteorological definition splits the year into four seasons of three full months apiece based on the Gregorian calendar, which makes it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics.
This means that every year summer begins on 1 June and lasts until 31 August, with autumn then getting underway on 1 September.
What does the summer solstice mean?
The summer solstice marks the date of the longest period of daylight and the shortest night of the year, when the Earth’s north pole has its maximum tilt towards the sun.
Slightly confusingly, as well as kicking off the astronomical season, the solstice can also be known as midsummer – because the days begin to get shorter after it has passed.
Conversely, the winter solstice (or midwinter), which tends to fall around the 21 December, marks the shortest day of the year and the start of the astronomical season.
More on Summer
Equinoxes get their name from the Latin for “equal night”, and mark the only two points in the year when the equator is the closest part of Earth to the sun.
For six months each of the year, either the northern or southern hemisphere is pointing slightly more towards the sun, bringing the warmer temperatures of spring and summer.
The autumnal and spring equinoxes mark when the two hemispheres swap over, while the summer and winter solstices denote the sun reaching its most northerly and southerly points.
How is the summer solstice marked around the world?
While the Stonehenge summer solstice celebrations will be familiar to many in the UK, there are various other commemorations which still take place around the globe.
Spain usually celebrates midsummer with a traditional party in honour of Saint John the Baptist, held on the evening of 23 June. Despite the Christian elements, the pagan origins of the festivities are honoured with the widespread lighting of bonfires, and the gathering of traditional medicinal plants.
In Mongolia, shamanism is widely regarded as the national religion, but it was banned for 70 years under communist rule, and has had a resurgence since 1992 – the shamanic fire rituals attached to the summer solstice therefore serving a vital cultural purpose.
Although to people in the UK the maypole is more commonly seen in the month of May, in Sweden the ‘majstång’ (or ‘midsommarstång‘) is associated with the period of the solstice.
Beyond erecting and dancing around the pole, Swedish traditions such as decorating homes with greenery still endure, with midsummer’s eve a de facto public holiday.
In Ukraine, midsummer celebrations are (like those in Spain) held in honour of John the Baptist, known as Ivan Kupala.
Ivan Kupala Day takes on many of the pagan origins attached to the solstice, with young men and women leaping over flames to cleanse themselves of ill fortune.