Today In History: First Day of Summer

Bend low again, night of summer stars.
So near you are, sky of summer stars, 
So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars, 
Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl, 
So near you are, summer stars, 
So near, strumming, strumming, 
            So lazy and hum-strumming.

Summer Stars, by Carl Sandburg

On Thursday, June 20th, 2024 at 4:51pm EDT, the Summer Solstice marked the beginning of Summer in the Norther Hemisphere. Representing the longest day, with the longest period of sunlight, the Sun reached its highest, most northern point in the sky. Typically, the June solstice occurs on either the 20th, 21st, or 22nd of the month, and may be affected by a leap year in which a 29th day is added to the month of February. Festivals, rituals, celebrations are common; tied to historic sites and ancient monuments; and often associated with the theme of fertility.

To our many readers, we wish you a Happy Summer full of simple pleasures and pastimes -- watching the sunrise; walking barefoot in the grass; reading a good book; picnicking in the park - opportunities are boundless when hotter months settle beyond the longest day of the year.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Sights in May Heavens: Sun More Than Half-Way Toward the Summer Solstice. (1896/05/03/, 1896 May 03). New York Times (1857-1922) 
• Powers, J. (1931/06/18/, 1931 Jun 18). Digging Up History: The Enigma of Stonehenge. Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960) 
• The Summer Solstice: Effect of  Leap Year. (1932/06/19/, 1932 Jun 19). The Observer (1901- 2003) 
• Summer Solstice Parade on View on State Street. (1981/06/06/, 1981 Jun 06). Los Angeles Times (1923-1995) 
• Suplee, C. (1994/11/16/, 1994 Nov 16). A Brief History Of Time-Keeping: How the Mechanical Clock Set a New Tempo for Society. The Washington Post (1974-) 
• Vann, K.  (1995/06/15/, 1995 Jun 15). Solstice Fest Celebrates Longest Day of the Year. The Hartford Courant (1923-) 
• Keogh, E. (2003/06/23/, 2003 Jun 23). Summer Solstice Celebrated. The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Battersby, E. (2006/06/22/, 2006 Jun 22). Summer  Solstice: Waiting in the Footsteps of History on Top of the Hill of Tara. The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Battersby, E. (2008/06/21/, 2008 Jun 21). Midsummer Mystery: Stonehenge Has Always Had a Special Place in the Heart of Englands' Writers, Poets, Painters and Dreamers. The Irish Times (1921-) 
• Spotts, P. (2010/06/21/, 2010 Jun 21). Summer Solstice: Did a Rampaging Planet Create Earth's Seasons?: The Summer Solstice Brings Attention to Theia, a Mars-Sized Planet-Wannabe Some Scientists Say Helped Create the Moon and Altered Earth's Axis. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 

Tips:

• Aveni, A. F. (2023). The Book of the Year :  A Brief History of Our Holidays. Oxford University Press.  e-book
• Belton, R. (2014). Winter and Summer Solstice. In Wild Blackberries. Allen & Unwin. e-book
• Rogers, S. F. (2011). My Reach: A Hudson River Memoir. Cornell University Press. e-book

Images:

• Untitled, 28. (n.d.), by Amena Firoy, from Children's Art of India, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Poster Image: Summer, Courtesy of Canva