Indigenous people of various tribes will hold ceremonial gatherings and events during the time of Summer Solstice in their communities some will gather for four days in ceremony and teachings. Summer Solstice indicates it is time when Sun Dance Ceremonies begin throughout Turtle Island (the Americas). During this time of Summer Solstice and Strawberry Moon, Indigenous people will gather in ceremonies, feasts, and sun dances. This is a time for people to set aside differences, resentments, and judgements – a time of forgiveness. In the night sky (giizhig), grandfather sun will reach a high standing point in the Northern Sky, which gives the longest day of the year on Mother Earth.ĭuring this time of the Summer Solstice is the Strawberry Moon (Ode’imini-giizis) phase, the heart berry that resembles the heart in shape and colour the leaves and roots are all connected, just as a human heart. Today, we’ll be talking about the meaning of Summer Solstice and its importance.The summer solstice marks the closest approach in the sacred dance of the sun, known to the Anishinaabe people as grandfather sun (giizis). There are four significant celestial events observed by Indigenous people across the Americas – the spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox, and winter solstice. For many people, this marks the longest day of the year (the day with the most sunlight), but it is a day of celebrations, community, and harmony for some cultures. Date/Times in blue are Local Time (CDT/CST).The Summer Solstice is just a few days away, occurring this Wednesday on June 21. NOTE: In the tables, d, h, m indicate day, hour, and minute, respectively.ĭate/Times in black are in Universal Time. The tilt's orientation with respect to space does not change during the year thus, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in June and away from the sun in December, as illustrated in the graphic below.Įarth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion (navy.mil) Seasons are caused by the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5°. This fact may sound counter to what we know about seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, but actually the difference is not significant in terms of climate and is NOT the reason why we have seasons. The aphelion, or the point at which the Earth is about 1.6 million miles farther away from the sun, occurs during the first week in July. During the first week in January, the Earth is about 1.6 million miles closer to the sun. This means that the distance between the Earth and Sun, which is 93 million miles on average, varies throughout the year. We all know that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun once every 365 days, following an orbit that is elliptical in shape. In the Northern Hemisphere, it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° south of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, and northern South Africa. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. Therefore, on the day of the summer solstice, the sun appears at its highest elevation with a noontime position that changes very little for several days before and after the summer solstice. The summer solstice occurs at the moment the earth's tilt toward from the sun is at a maximum. Therefore, on the equinox and for several days before and after the equinox, the length of day will range from about 12 hours and six and one-half minutes at the equator, to 12 hours and 8 minutes at 30 degrees latitude, to 12 hours and 16 minutes at 60 degrees latitude. Additionally, the days become a little longer at the higher latitudes (those at a distance from the equator) because it takes the sun longer to rise and set. The "nearly" equal hours of day and night is due to refraction of sunlight or a bending of the light's rays that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon. At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on these two equinoxes. These events are referred to as Equinoxes.The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night). There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes.
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