A mid-summer dream location

Always a mystical time of year, 2020 is sure to mark a uniquely subdued and strange mid-summer

- Jane Davies

JUNE is a mystical month in the calendar, marking the summer solstice and is the halfway marker is yet another year that will no doubt pass all too quickly.

The summer solstice this year falls on 20 June and marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The solstice occurs when the Earth arrives at a point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its maximum tilt (approx. 23.5 degrees) towards the Sun, resulting in the longest day and the shortest night of the year.

The word solstice actually derives from the Latin word sol, meaning ‘sun’ and sister meaning ‘to stand still’. For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky and ancient pagans would welcome the midsummer solstice with a bonfire which was believed to boost the sun’s energy, swell the crops and produce a good harvest.