When is the shortest day at. When, from what date in summer, will daylight begin to decrease? On the mystical power of a significant period

16.05.2019

December 21, 2017 is the day of the winter solstice. We are facing the shortest day of the year, and the night after it will be the longest. The day will last less than 7 hours and the night will last more than 17 hours.

Why Solstice Days Occur

In winter, the Earth is tilted away from the Sun, which causes the cooling and the change of seasons, and on the day of the solstice, the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation takes on the greatest value. Accordingly, the sun occupies the lowest position above the horizon.

After the winter solstice, the length of daylight hours gradually begins to increase, that is, the sun rises earlier in the morning and sets later in the evening. This continues until the summer solstice on June 20-21. Then the length of the day begins to decline again.

How the day will increase

Astronomers consider the winter solstice to be the beginning of the astronomical winter. The day following it will be three seconds longer, and by the New Year the length of daylight hours will increase by 6 minutes.

In Kiev, the sunrise is expected tomorrow at 7.56 am, sunset at 15.56.

Holiday traditions

In many cultures, the solstice, both winter and summer, has a special meaning. In winter, the revival of the Sun was celebrated, which from this day is more and more present in the sky.

On this day, rituals were carried out aimed at obtaining a good harvest next year. So, the pagans broadcast bread and pies on the branches of old trees, left drinks as an offering to the gods.

At the sunset of the "old" Sun, ritual bonfires were kindled, over which prayers were read, so that the "new" Sun would soon gain strength.

Among the Celts, who called this holiday Yule, it was customary to decorate the dwelling with fir branches. They were hung over the entrance, windows, and also in every corner of the house.

The Slavs on this day celebrated Kolyada, which in their mythology was the god of the new Sun. On this day, festivities with songs and dances were organized, and gifts were also given. For the Slavs, this holiday was the beginning of a new year.

On the longest night of the year, it was customary to guess the future. In addition, this day is great for making wishes. The day is favorable for meditation, making plans for the future, general cleaning in the house, parting with everything old and unnecessary in life.

Signs

It is believed that the weather on the day of the winter solstice indicates what the weather will be like on New Year's.

A clear, sunny day means frost in the new year, and if the day is cloudy, then in 10 days there will be a thaw.

If it rains on this day, then the spring will be wet.

A calm day promises a rich fruit harvest next year.

The summer solstice in 2017 falls on June 21. This day is considered the longest day of the year when the height of the Sun's rise in the sky is the highest. The summer solstice is also called the first day of summer, since it is on this day in the northern hemisphere of our planet that the summer season begins according to astronomical laws.

In 2017, the summer solstice came at 04.24 UTC (04.24 Moscow time). On June 21, at the latitude of Moscow, the Sun will rise above the horizon to an altitude of more than 57 degrees, and in territories located above the latitude of 66.5 degrees (the Arctic Circle), it will not go beyond the horizon at all, as a result of which the day will last around the clock. There is a polar night at the South Pole at this time.

In ancient times, the summer solstice was timed to coincide with the Kupala holiday. Traditionally, on this day and night, they wove wreaths, drank surya (honey drink), jumped over fires, made sacrifices to water and fire, collected medicinal herbs, performed rituals invoking the harvest, and also carried out ablutions in rivers and lakes to wash the soul.

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Today, the Kupala holiday does not correspond to the astronomical solar equinox, but many peoples celebrate the summer solstice in the old fashioned way. The summer solstice is widely celebrated in the West as well. For example, in Britain the holiday is called Lita, it is closely related to the pagan sun worship. The Scandinavian and Baltic peoples celebrate the day and night of the summer solstice magnificently, they are called Midsummer's Day or Midsummer's Night. In Latvia, the holiday is called Ligo or Jan's Day, it has state status and is celebrated annually on June 23rd and 24th.

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On the day of the summer solstice, according to popular belief, it is necessary to follow the signs. First of all, they previously paid attention to the weather on this day - bad weather promised a bad harvest and a cold summer. It is believed that people born on the summer solstice have good health and a happy fate, as they are under the protection of the sun.

Also, among the important beliefs and signs on the summer solstice, there are sentences and conspiracies. For example, if you climb over 12 fences on this day, your wish will come true within a year. And in order to get rid of all diseases, you need to take a steam bath with a broom, collected on the day of the summer solstice.

Solstice is one of two days of the year when the Sun is at its greatest angular distance from the celestial equator, i.e. when the height of the star above the horizon at noon is minimum or maximum. This results in the longest day and shortest night (summer solstice) in one hemisphere of the Earth and the shortest day and longest night (winter solstice) in the other.

Longest day of the year

The summer solstice is the day of the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere of the Earth and the beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere, that is, if the inhabitants of the northern part of the Earth are at the beginning of the astronomical summer from that moment, then the astronomical winter will begin for the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere at the same time period.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs on June 20, 21 or 22. In the southern hemisphere, these dates are the winter solstice. Due to various inequalities in the movement of the Earth, the solstice epochs fluctuate by 1-2 days.

In 2017, the astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere will begin on June 21 at 7.34 am Moscow time.

On the day of the summer solstice at the latitude of Moscow, the Sun rises above the horizon to an altitude of more than 57 degrees, and in territories located above the latitude of 66.5 degrees (the Arctic Circle), it does not go beyond the horizon at all, and the day lasts around the clock. At the North Pole of the Earth, the Sun moves across the sky at the same height around the clock. There is a polar night at the South Pole at this time.

During several adjacent solstice days, the Sun's noon heights in the sky are almost unchanged; hence the name of the solstice. After the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the day wanes and the night gradually begins to increase. In the southern hemisphere, the opposite is true. For millennia, the day of the summer solstice was of great importance to our ancient ancestors, subject to natural cycles.

How the Slavs celebrated the solstice

In the old days, even before the advent of Christianity, the Kupala holiday dedicated to the ancient pagan god Kupala was timed to coincide with the summer solstice.

On this day and night, they wove wreaths, drank surya (honey drink), jumped over fires, made sacrifices to water and fire, collected medicinal herbs, performed rituals invoking the harvest, and "cleansing the soul and body" of bathing in rivers, lakes and streams. The fern occupied the central place among the vegetation that night. It was believed that a fern flower, blooming only for a moment at midnight, would indicate exactly where the treasure was buried.

The people said: "On Kupala - the Sun for the winter, and summer for the heat", "Whoever does not go to the Baths will be a stump, and whoever goes to the Baths will be white-birch."

The holiday has many names. Depending on the locality and time, it was called Kupala, Kres (old Russian), Ivan the good, love, Ivan-Kupala, Ivan the herbalist, Yarilin's day (in the Yaroslavl and Tver provinces), Soncekres (Ukrainian), Dukhov-day (Bulgarian) and others. In Ukraine it is also known as Kupailo, in Belarus - Kupalye.

With the adoption of Christianity, people did not reject the holiday of Kupala, but, on the contrary, timed this day to the day of John the Baptist, which, according to the old style, falls on June 24. But according to the new calendar style, the day of John the Baptist falls on July 7th. To date, the celebration does not correspond to the astronomical solar equinox.

How the solstice is celebrated in the West

The celebration of the summer solstice was present in all ancient pagan systems, many peoples still celebrate it, some in its original form, and some in a simplified one, leaving only the basic rituals and translating the ancient rituals of ancestors into a bright holiday.

The summer solstice was considered by all Celtic peoples to be the time of fairies, elves and other supernatural beings. Among the Celtic peoples of Britain, the holiday was called Lita and was closely associated with the pagan cult of the sun.

The Scandinavian and Baltic peoples celebrated the day and night of the summer solstice magnificently. Subsequently, these holidays in different countries were called Midsummer's Day or Midsummer's Night (from the national version of the name Ivan).

In Latvia, the holiday is called Ligo or Jan's Day, it has state status and is celebrated on June 23 and 24, which are official days off. In Estonia it is also called Janov's day, in Lithuania - Jonines or Rasos (dew holiday). In both countries, it is celebrated on June 24 and is a public holiday and day off.

In Norway, the holiday named after John the Baptist is called Jonsok (Midsummer's Night). Another name for the holiday - Jonsvaka (Jonsvoko) - is formed from the name of Johan and the verb vake - "to stay awake." It was believed that on Midsummer's night one should not sleep until dawn - not only because one can hear the singing of elves, but above all for the purpose of a talisman for the whole coming year. Another name for the holiday, more "official" - Sankthansnatt or Sankthansaften (St. Hans's night).

Sputnik

Sailing yacht from Finland "Svanhild" at the "Days of the Sea" festival in the Tallinn port of Vanasadam

In Sweden, the holiday is called Midsummer. Until 1953, it was celebrated on the same day that the Christian church celebrated the day of John the Baptist. But now the holiday usually falls on the penultimate Saturday of June, that is, it is usually celebrated from 20 to 26 June. In Sweden, the celebration begins the day before, on Friday, which is also a non-working holiday.

In Finland, during pagan times, the holiday was called in honor of the God of Fire - Ukon juhla, but now it is called Juhannus - an outdated pronunciation of the name of John the Baptist. Since 1954, Johannus has been celebrated on Saturday, which falls between 20 and 26 June. Since 1934, this day has been an official holiday - the Day of the National Flag of the country.

Folk omens on the day of the summer solstice

On this day, it is customary to follow the signs, this is what the people paid attention to.

Bad weather on the summer solstice predicted a poor harvest and a poor year. It is believed that if the Sun hid behind the clouds, the summer will be bad.

If there is a lot of dew in the morning - to a rich harvest. This dew was collected and poured into one vessel, it was considered healing. Water collected in the morning from wells and springs possessed the same power. They washed themselves with her on the same day and drank.

If there are many stars in the sky, this is a mushroom summer.

Participants of the Novgorodskoe Kupalye holiday in Veliky Novgorod

It is believed that children born on the summer solstice, June 21 or 22, have an evil eye, that is, they can jinx it. However, according to another sign, these people have good health and a happy fate, as they are under the protection of the sun.

It was considered a good omen to meet the dawn on the day of the summer solstice - this gives strength and health for the whole year and protects against troubles.

It is also believed that if you climb over 12 fences on this day, your wish will come true within a year.

And in order to get rid of all diseases, you need to take a steam bath with a broom collected on that day.

The material was compiled from open sources.

As you know, the sun rises in winter and summer at different times, which is why the length of the day changes. Summer is the longest day, and there will be one in 2017.

This phenomenon is called the summer solstice. This length of daylight hours is explained by the fact that the sun rises as high as possible, due to which the dawn is very early, and the sunset is late.

The longest day and the shortest night are observed in the northern hemisphere, in the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, the day is short at this time.

The summer solstice does not occur on the same day, the date may shift, although it always happens in the second half of June. The onset of the longest day depends on the shift in the calendar, and whether it is a normal year or a leap year.

Thus, in 2017, the longest day will come on June 21st. The night will last approximately 6 hours, and the daylight hours - 17.5 hours.

Signs and celebration of the solstice

For different peoples, this day was sacred. The pagans considered the sun a deity and worshiped him. Warmth and harvest depend on the sun, which is why people revered it so much. During this period, nature flourished as much as possible and began to bring the first harvest.
In Russia, Ivan Kupala was celebrated at this time, but now, after the shift in calendars, it has been postponed to July.

On the day of the summer solstice, people performed various rituals that glorify the sun and contribute to the growth of the harvest.

Historians say that they knew about the solstice even in Ancient Egypt, even the pyramids were built in accordance with the location of the luminary. It is said that such a structure as Stonehenge is associated with the movement and definition of the sun. For the pagans, this holiday is of no less importance, they celebrate it to this day. Success in many areas of life, as well as health, depends on what ceremonies were performed on this day.

With the development of civilization, the sun ceased to be perceived as a deity, rather, it became the definition of the season. However, some peoples and certain religions have retained the veneration of the longest day as the most important of the year. Some countries still celebrate this day, organizing colorful festivities with rituals of lighting a fire and bathing in water.

Celtic beliefs

The Celts had a holiday of Lita - it was the middle of summer. At the festival in honor of this holiday, various rituals took place: divination, wedding, communication with spirits and others. Houses were necessarily decorated, for which they used fragrant and medicinal herbs, white lily. It was believed that the smell of herbs drives away evil spirits. When evening fell, bonfires were lit, processions with torches and jumps over the fire were arranged. The coals from the fire lit on this holiday were kept in order to carry out various rituals. The name of the honeymoon is also associated with this period, because in June the first honey is collected. At this time, weddings were celebrated, after which a new addition to the family was expected.

Germanic and Scandinavian traditions

This day was celebrated by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. The holiday was named Midsummer's Day, and it is similar to the traditions of Lita. People welcomed the Sun, blessed the future harvest and asked for it to be abundant. High bonfires were kindled, jumping over fires, and rituals associated with water were performed. The holiday took place until dawn, it was considered wrong to go to bed that night.

Traditions of Ancient Russia on the day of the solstice

The celebration of the longest day in Ancient Russia was no less interesting. It started in a week. During these seven days, they honored the spirits, commemorated their ancestors and scattered the ashes of the dead soldiers over the river. On the day of the solstice itself, the holiday of Kupala was celebrated, it meant the end of spring and the beginning of summer. The rituals of the celebration were in many ways similar to the traditions of previous peoples: bonfires were kindled, over which people jumped, weaved wreaths and floated them on the water, performed ablutions, summoned spirits and asked for a high harvest in the current year.

After the solstice day, the ancient Slavs celebrated the solstice and worshiped the god Perun, who was one of the most important gods among the Slavs.

Modern traditions

Now the longest day does not matter as much as it had for our ancestors, but in 2017 it can be celebrated as an interesting holiday. Adherents of paganism carry out their own rituals glorifying nature, and to this day, although such a scale as it was with our ancestors is no longer observed. Ordinary people are also happy to participate in interesting activities.

Since ancient times, people believed that at this time it is possible to attract many positive changes in their lives in terms of material wealth and well-being.

After reading this article, you can find out what is the longest and shortest night of the year.

People of many nationalities believed in the unusual mystical power of the solstice time. This magical period, according to many, is characterized by the incredible strength of its energy and is marked by the longest night.

Before we find out which night is the longest of the year, let's take a quick look at what this time represented for people who lived in previous centuries.

General information from history

In Russia, since the 18th century, a rather interesting rite was associated with this day (winter solstice). The headman of the bell ringers of the Moscow cathedral, who was responsible for the striking of the clock, came to bow to the tsar. On this day, he reported to the ruler that the sun had turned around for the summer, the day was slowly beginning to increase, and the night was decreasing. The tsar, in turn, gave the elder money for such good news.

December 22 can be called New Year, but natural. Sun at 21 hours 11 minutes. Moscow time on December 21 drops to the maximum in the southern hemisphere, thus, the astronomical winter begins. At the latitude of Moscow, the longitude of daylight hours is 6 hours 56 minutes.

It is dark for quite a long time from December 21 to 22. The lowest setting of the sun sets just after such a night - on the day of the winter solstice. They also call it the solstice.

In everyday life, this phenomenon is imperceptible for people, but it is perfectly demonstrated in special photographs taken by astronomers. The sun is photographed at the same time all year round, then all the shots are combined into one image. It shows an analemma - a bizarre trajectory of the change in the location of the star in the sky. It is in the form of a figure of eight, on which the very edge of the lower loop corresponds to the solstice. So, the longest night is from December 21 to 22.

After this "New Year", the day gradually begins to increase until it is equal in duration to the night, and this is the day of the vernal equinox, which occurs on March 20. Then (June 21) comes the summer solstice, when the day is the longest, but the night is the shortest.

Most funniest night

The longest night of the year (the number is presented above) is also the most fun for many peoples.

The ancient peoples of Great Britain many centuries ago tried to joke a lot, laugh and have fun on this night. People believed that the problems voiced in the form of jokes that night would definitely be positively resolved in the near future. They were confident that the more fun during this period, the luckier the coming year will be.

On the mystical power of a significant period

The longest night of the year has mystical power in the minds of many nations. It has long been believed that the solstice is a significant day. During this period, the rebirth of all the brightest takes place, and the subsequent addition of hours of daylight hours marks the victory of light over darkness.

The meeting of this significant time always took place in a special way: folk holidays were timed to coincide with it. The Celts, for example, celebrated Yule (an analogue of the New Year) during this period. On the day of the solstice, the Slavic peoples worshiped Karachun (the deity of cold and darkness, the lord of winter).

According to the beliefs of the Slavs, on this night, darkness conquers the light, and with the arrival of a new morning, everything ends happily. With the victory of light, the world is renewed, victory triumphs over evil.

In cultures of different peoples, the time of the winter solstice (the longest night of the year) was considered the most favorable for performing various rituals and ceremonies. Many of them, which came from antiquity, can be applied now, since the power of the longest night of the year has not diminished over time, and people, as before, always have a desire to change themselves and their lives for the better.

The energy of the transition from darkness to light (renewal) contributes to getting rid of everything unnecessary and attracting what is desired.

Rite of passage to get rid of problems

When the longest night of the year passes, there is an opportunity to experience the beneficial effects of the solstice on yourself.

Rituals are especially effective at precisely such a time (energetically saturated) as the day of the solstice. You should take advantage of this opportunity, because such a period occurs only 2 times a year.

The ritual for getting rid of various problems is especially relevant, due to the fact that the solstice occurs almost before the New Year. Everyone wants to move to a new stage of life, leaving the failures and difficulties behind. And it is precisely such a period that can help in this: the energetic message sent to the Universe during the ritual is a reliable means of solving problems.

You need to carry out the ceremony in solitude, after the sun leaves the horizon. What is it? You should light a candle and, peering into the fire, think about the troubles and problems that interfere with life and which you want to get rid of. At the same time, say the following words: “I drive away the darkness with fire, I save myself from oppression. The night will pass - it will take my problems with it. As the day grows, my life will be filled with happiness. Be it. "

After these words, the candle should burn for some time in a safe place, and before going to sleep it should be extinguished and the ritual should be completed with the following words: "Let everything you wish come true."

Conclusion

December 22 is such a long night! She can help to do many important things: to meet, make peace, think over and make wishes, analyze the past and think about the future ...