Summer Solstice! :)

I've wanted to blog again for the longest, but its hard when your computer has crashed and there are other more pressing matters to attend to. I finally couldn't take it any more and thought, "Today is the day! :) June 21st, Summer Solstice." I don't know why, but I am always fascinated by events such as the Summer Solstice. It just sounds and feels so mysterious and at the same time so Shakespearian LOL. I really enjoy reading fantasy novels and summer solstice is magical in the world of fantasy.

The word solstice is derived from the Latin language (yes I looked it up LOL) and is a combination of two words sol + stice meaning sun and to stand still. Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere of the earth marks the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The longest day and shortest night in the Southern Hemisphere falls on December 21 and is called the Winter Solstice. Early celebrations of these events often involved dancing and fires the night before to help increase the energy of the sun as it rose the next day and climbed to the top of the sky. I don't know why but the thought of all those mysterious and magical fires makes me want to go outside and build a camp fire, roast some marshmallows for smores, and insist that anyone with me please not tell any ghost stories! ;)



Summer Solstice also reminds me of Stonehenge. The druids of the past marked the Summer Solstice as the "Wedding of Heaven and Earth." I saw some videos online. Thousands of people flock the night before to Stonehenge to greet the sunrise. This year there were approximately 20,000 people there. I thought it was pretty cool and thought "Yeah! I'd love to do that!" Then I saw a video and it just reminded me of images I've seen of Woodstock in the sixties, crowded and filthy. There was trash everywhere, people being very loud, and bodies of those trying to get some sleep strewn about. It was cool that they were all there at Stonehenge and why they were there, but I didn't see any bathrooms in sight and the thought of needing to use one with no bush coverage for miles is not very appealing.

So yea for the Summer Solstice (as I enjoy it from the comforts of my home in Hawaii) and what I hope is the beginning of many more blog entries to come! :)