The longest day of the year

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day - it is called the summer solstice - falls on June 21. On this day the sun is in the sky 17.5 hours, if we take the Moscow latitude. In St. Petersburg, the day of light lasts almost all of 19 hours out of 24.

The solar system is rather complicated. The Earth's orbit relative to the Sun is not an ideal circle, it has an elliptical shape, so at different times the Sun is from the Earth a little further or slightly closer to it. The difference is insignificant - 5 million kilometers, but it is she, as well as the slope of the earth's axis, that determine the daily and annual cycle. On the longest day - the summer solstice day - Earth is 152 million kilometers from its star. On this day, the Sun is located at the highest point of the earthly Neisklokna - the ecliptic. Starting from June 21, the light day will begin to decrease gradually, until December 21 reaches its minimum, and then everything will start again.

In the culture of many peoples, the longest day is still a holiday that has come from the depths of centuries. Ancient Slavs, Finns, Swedes, the Balts, the Germans and the Portuguese celebrated, and here and there they continue to celebrate this day as the beginning or middle of summer. For example, in Sweden on the summer solstice After nocturnal festivities, the girls are supposed to collect 7 different colors and put them under the pillow so that they dream of a betrothed. The Celts celebrated Lita, the middle of the summer, on that day. This holiday was directly connected with the pagan cult of the sun.

In Russia, the analogy of these holidays was the day of Ivan Kupala, which is celebrated a little later - July 7. The Slavs also considered this day mystical and thought that it was on the night of 7 to 8 July that the fern blooms, which may indicate the place where the treasure is hidden. In China, too, there is a similar holiday - Xiazhi. In Latvia, this holiday is called Ligo and, in general, is a day off. In the cities pass processions and Folk festivities, which end only with the first rays of the sun.

One of the most famous buildings with which the longest day of the year is still connected is Stonehenge, which was built about 5000 years ago. Every year thousands of British and tourists gather there and celebrate the beginning of summer, because from the point of view of astronomy this is exactly its beginning.

In addition to the solstices, there is still an equinox. These days light day and night occupy an equal amount of time, and such moments occur 2 times a year: March 21-22 and September 22-23.

If you ask yourself how long the longest day really lasts, then the answer is simple - six months. And this day is called polar, while the rest of the six months behind the polar circle is night. This phenomenon can be observed in both hemispheres.

It would seem, what importance is the longest day in the northern hemisphere. Why celebrate such a day, and indeed, with the invention of electricity, people almost ceased to depend on such a trifle as the presence of the sun in the sky. However, in reality everything is much more complicated. Of course, now after sunset, it is not necessary to go to bed, or you can simply turn on a table lamp or chandelier. But still people like summer and sunny days more than winter and the overcast sky.