The first day of summer arrives with the solstice this year on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 10:58 a.m. EDT.  The summer solstice is the time at which the sun reaches its maximum declination.  More practically for most of us, the summer solstice is the longest period of daylight in the year. 

The term “solstice” comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). At the solstice, the angle between the Sun’s rays and the plane of the Earth’s equator (called declination) appears to stand still. This phenomenon is most noticeable at the Arctic Circle where the Sun hugs the horizon for a continuous 24 hours, thus the term “Land of the Midnight Sun.”

The summer solstice has long been celebrated by cultures around the world.

• In Egypt, the summer solstice coincides with the rising of the Nile River. In ancient times, it was crucial to predict this annual flooding, the Egyptian New Year began at the summer solstice.
• There is an ancient Irish custom of cutting hazel branches on solstice eve which can be used as divining rods for dousing.  In colonial America these water witches were highly sought after for their ability to find the best places to dig a well.  The term “witch” is derived from the Anglo-saxon word wych, meaning bend. The divining rod was supposed to bend downward when it detected water.
• In pre-Roman England, monuments were constructed to align with the sun at solstice.  Gatherings at places like Stonehenge and the lighting of bonfires on hilltops were common.
• Among the Ancient Greeks, summer solstice was marked with a festival in honor of the agriculture god Cronus. Abandoning their social codes, slaves participated as equals and were often served by their masters.
• The Ancient Romans paid tribute to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth at the summer solstice. Rituals included the removal of an unborn calf from its mother’s womb and subsequent sacrifice.
• Midsummer was a crucial time of year for Vikings who would meet to discuss legal matters and resolve disputes around the summer solstice.
• The Sundance is performed by many native American tribes on the summer solstice.  Although the ceremonies varied in form from tribe to tribe, many had features in common, such as dancing, singing and drumming, prayer, meditation, the experience of visions, and fasting.

The summer solstice also marks the beginning of the “Dog Days” of summer. These are usually the hottest days of the season. The phrase is a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star. During the “Dog Days.” the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth. Sirius is a part of the constellation Canis Major.  Because the star is so bright, the ancient Romans believed it actually gave off heat and added to the Sun’s warmth, accounting for the long stretch of sultry weather. They referred to this time as diēs caniculārēs, or “dog days.”

The “dog days of summer” are named after the star Sirius.

When things heat up around July and August, you’ll inevitably hear the phrase “dog days of summer.” No, this doesn’t have anything to do with canines lying around panting in the heat — instead, the phrase is a celestial reference. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is nicknamed the “dog star” because it makes up the “eye” of the constellation Canis Major (Latin for “Greater Dog”). In Greek mythology, Canis Major is said to be a hunting dog who belongs to the legendary huntsman Orion. Cosmologically speaking, this relationship is fitting, because the three stars that make up the asterism Orion’s belt point to the “dog star” in the southern sky.

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (except for our sun, of course), but it’s not the closest. That accolade belongs to Proxima Centauri, at only 4.246 light-years away. But light travels fast, and even the star closest to Earth is still some 25 trillion miles away.

The phrase “dog days of summer” actually refers to a specific period on the calendar, from July 3 until August 11. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed these “dog days” occurred when Sirius appeared to rise with the sun, which always occurred during the summer. The idea was that the immense luminosity of Sirius along with the sun’s heat somehow created summer’s scorching temperatures. Of course, we now know this doesn’t make much sense. For one thing, Sirius is much farther away from Earth than the sun is — like 50 trillion miles farther — so the star has absolutely no effect on Earth’s climate. For another, the dog days of summer are relative to where you live on Earth, appearing earlier in the year for those living farther south and later for those in the north. Also, the position of Sirius is subject to Earth’s wobbly rotation — meaning that in 13,000 years, Sirius will instead rise in midwinter rather than midsummer. So no, “dog days of summer” isn’t an allusion to our cuddly canines, but a vestigial phrase derived from some 2,500-year-old astronomy.

After today, the days will get progressively shorter until Thu, Dec 21, 2023 10:27 PM when we hit the winter solstice.

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