Right now, we are at our farthest away from the sun. This ball, this earth. We are in, what they call, an Aphelion, for a few weeks. We rotate around the sun in an oval or elliptical, not a circle. In the summer, the Aphelion. And in the winter, we reach the Perihelion, when we are closest. It seems backward, but that’s how it works. And then, about every 100,000 years, Earth’s orbital path changes from being nearly circular to elliptical. Gravity pulls and pushes.
I’m thinking of all of this, because today, June 20th, is the Summer Solstice, the June Solstice, the beginning of the Summer season (For the Northern Hemisphere). It is also the longest day of the year here. Which is great news, but also a double-edged sword. Yes, what goes up, must come down. Those days get shorter from this point onward. Until the Winter Solstice, when it flips the switch again.
Longest doesn’t mean hottest either. In fact, the hottest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere usually comes after the solstice. By weeks, or even months. You see, it takes time for the oceans and landmasses to warm up. That’s the reason. Our big body has to get all heated up which allows for higher air temperatures. This phenomenon is called the delay or lag of the seasons. That’s why February seems so dang cold. It is.
Back in the long ago, when humans had less science, they based a lot of their lives on what the great outdoors were doing. They watched for things like the longest light, and conversely, the deepest dark. There were always evil spirits involved, though, I’ll tell you. And truthfully, I’m thinking they may have been on to something.
Anyway, on the Summer Solstice, they would wear flowers, little headbands of them and such, to ward off those evil spirits. One of the most powerful of these plants was known as “chase devil,” today referred to as St. John’s Wort. Now, I don’t have any of the actual plant, but there might be an old bottle of it in the vitamin cupboard. I think I’ll tape a capsule to my forehead today, just to be on the safe side.
Along those same lines, many ancient cultures worshiped the sun. Or, they had deities or rulers called Sun Kings. Those people would offer things up to the Sun Gods. Things like human sacrifices, especially at the solstice. I’m wondering how they picked the people who became the offerings. Lottery? Short stick? Palest? Worst apple pie baker? Sacrifice one to save the many? Seems somehow archaic.
All of this summer business, because the sun is in the Tropic of Cancer. In the winter, it is in the Tropic of Capricorn. We hear this a lot, but what does it mean? Well, that Tropic is a big circle that goes all the way around the earth, kind of near the equator. The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. If you stand somewhere in the Tropic of Cancer, exactly at noon, you won’t see your shadow. The sun will be a perfect 90-degree angle above the earth. The only spot in the United States is Necker Island, which is there with the Hawaiian Islands.
“Cancer” is Latin for “crab” by the way. Tropic of Crab. Crab cakes, crab salad. Crab toast. Crabby Appleton. Sun Crab.
So yes. Here we are at the onset of summer, which will go right through until the Autumn Equinox, on Tuesday, September 22. Our world will look much different on that date. Trust me. Remember what I said about the time in history when humans had less science? Someday, someone will be saying that about us. As sure as there is a sun in the sky.
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“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” —Maud Hart Lovelace, Tacy and Tib
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“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” —F.Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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“To me there has never been a higher source of earthly honor or distinction than that connected with advances in science.”
— Isaac Newton
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