The summer solstice is the exact moment of the year when the days are longest and the nights are shortest. In the northern hemisphere, it takes place in June, just as the southern hemisphere is celebrating the winter solstice where the nights are longest and the days shortest.
For millennia, the summer solstice has been an important part of the human story, with prehistoric monuments, stone circles, and burial sites built to honor it. Many of these monuments, including the world-famous Stonehenge, are aligned with the rising midsummer sun and people still gather at them to celebrate. Historically, the summer solstice was an important part of Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, and Nordic traditions but what does it mean for modern humans, and how might we celebrate the turning of the year?
Summer Solstice Celebrations
Traditionally, at the summer solstice, pre-Christian communities would light bonfires and jump over them for good luck. Magic and mayhem have also been integral to this annual celebration as Shakespeare depicts in A Midsummer Night’s Dream where the human and fairy worlds collide.
Today, many people still mark the summer solstice, from individuals who celebrate the connection with the Earth and its seasons to pagan and druid groups for whom this date is an important part of their calendar. For everyone, it is a time of positivity and joy. As Philip Carr-Gomm writes in Time for Magic: “Now our vitality is at its peak. In these longest evenings of the year, it’s time for partying. It’s time to envision a healthy, dynamic and positive future for ourselves and the planet. It’s time for courage, boldness, and magic.”
Ways to Celebrate the Summer Solstice
There is no one way to celebrate this ‘high point’ in the year and we can each create our own meaningful rituals and traditions. You might like to:
🌅 Rise early to welcome the rising sun and stay up late to see it set. If you can do this from a hilltop or mountain top so much the better!
🧘 Face the rising sun and do some yoga sun salutations to greet the morning of the solstice.
🌻 Walk in nature and really notice the beauty of the Earth. Everything depends on the sun.
🙏 Meditate outdoors. You can find many guided summer solstice meditations online.
🔥 Honor our ancestors by lighting a bonfire and jumping over it for good luck.
🎻 Play music and dance. This is a time of joy!
🥗 Make a special meal from the Earth’s bounty.
Summer Solstice Recipes
We celebrate this festival of life with fresh, cruelty-free, plant-based foods, using seasonal ingredients that are organic wherever possible. These are some of our very favorite summer solstice recipes for your celebration meal.
- Tuscan Inspired Panzanella Salad: so many zingy Mediterranean flavors
- Vibrant Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing: beautiful to look at, utterly delicious to eat
- Beetroot and Radish Carpaccio: a dish to brighten any solstice table
- Celeriac Steaks with Salsa Verde: sweet and zesty deliciousness
- Warm Potato Salad with Chargrilled Asparagus: possibly the most perfect salad invented
- Falafel Burgers: a light and tasty burger the whole family will love
- Greek Giant Beans: a traditional butter bean dish you are sure to make again and again
- Herbed Crostini with Leek and Tahini Dip: sweet and creamy, and a real crowd pleaser
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus: perfect for dipping flatbreads and veggies into
- Lemon Tarts; a sweet, light, and creamy dessert
- Vanilla and Roasted Apricot Cheesecake: the perfect balance of sweet and tart
- Pretty Berry Parfait: so simple, so pretty, so delicious
- Strawberry Eton Mess: a British summer classic made vegan
- Alcohol-free Raspberry Mojito: the perfect summer drink
However you spend your solstice—whether it is up a mountain, in a forest, or jumping over a fire in your yard—we hope it is a joyous celebration of life, with just a dash of mayhem thrown in!
