The Summer Solstice Celebrates Earth’s Longest Day
By Patricia McDaniel
Those who still consult a calendar – printed or digital – will often see a brief reminder of the “Summer Solstice” on the page dedicated to June. A little after laid-back Father’s Day, but well before the boisterous Fourth of July on the next page, it’s a day deserving of our notice. It’s actually a feat of cosmic proportion, the thankfully predictable passage of another of Earth’s seasons.
In the Two River area, there is a self-described eco-spiritual organization, Waterspirit in Rumson, that has for years marked the significance of the summer solstice and other such passages of the year.
“The summer solstice is a time to reflect on abundance, expansiveness, joy, energy, warmth, creativity and the first fruits,” explained Blair Nelsen, executive director of Waterspirit.
“We reflect on the meaning of maximum light and invite many of these qualities into our lives. These qualities, which Waterspirit focuses on in our interfaith, family-friendly ceremonies, are inspired by what we know of summer solstice celebrations passed down from many ancient cultures,” she said.
No one is quite sure who discovered the occurrence of the solstices. According to Owen Gingerich, professor emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science at Harvard University, there is “no writing to record this great discovery.”
From an astronomical perspective, the National Weather Service says the summer solstice occurs when the Earth’s tilt toward the sun is at a maximum – when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees latitude north. When this happens, the sun appears at its highest elevation. The sun’s noon-time position changes very little for several days before and after the solstice.
With this positioning of the sun, people enjoy the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours. Depending on one’s latitude, the length of daylight a person can enjoy on the solstice varies. At the equator, the time from sunrise to sunset is roughly 12 hours. At temperate or mid-northern latitudes, the length of daylight lasts about 15 hours, according to Space.com.
Solstices don’t land on the same calendar day every year because the astronomical year is 365.25 days long. So the solstices shift a day or two each year, but generally fall within the same three days. In the northern hemisphere, those days are June 20, 21 or 22 for the summer solstice.
Waterspirit will host its Summer Solstice Celebration from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 20, at its headquarters at 4 E. River Road at the Rumson Presbyterian Church in Rumson. The celebration will also be livestreamed on the organization’s YouTube channel.
“Our ceremonies have a similar structure every time, but the content is always fresh,” said Nelsen. “For the summer solstice, we have often shared perennial favorites like Mary Oliver’s poem ‘The Summer Day’ and songs like The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun.’ ”
She said there is always room to “change up” the event: lighting candles, dancing with joy, telling sun-themed jokes, and making an interactive timeline of solar energy. (Nelsen noted that the first solar cell was invented in 1883.)
“Like ancient peoples, we always conclude our celebrations with seasonal foods and community-building,” she added.
Advocacy for the Environment
Waterspirit offers a depth of environmental programming and advocacy opportunities. Taking action is a big part of its mission. But taking time to reflect – and to spiritually nourish others – is another dimension of Waterspirit.
“Our founder, Suzanne Golas of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, was profoundly inspired by the work of eco-spiritual theologian (or “geologian”) Fr. Thomas Berry. To him, the entire universe is experienced as a cosmic liturgy, and the solstices and equinoxes are dominant experiences for all living forms on Earth.”
Inspired by Berry’s work, Golas founded Waterspirit in 1998 and began hosting seasonal ceremonies shortly thereafter.
“They are one of our hallmark programs,” Nelsen said, adding she was drawn to her position when Golas retired in 2019 because “commemorating the seasons has been part of my personal spiritual practice since I was a child.”
Nelsen explained the differences between solstices and equinoxes, all of which are celebrated by Waterspirit. While both mark days significant because of the sun’s position relative to Earth, “equinoxes – spring and fall – are days when the sun crosses the celestial equator, and day and night are of equal length. We often reflect on balance then. The solstices are peak days – longest day in summer, longest night in winter. On these days, the sun appears to stand still in the sky, which is the origin of the term ‘solstice,’ ” she said, which is from the Latin “solstitium.”
Since Waterspirit is an ecological and spiritual nonprofit focused on water, that element appears in its seasonal celebrations. “We always include water on the altar, which we return to Earth after our ceremonies,” Nelsen said. “We often reflect on water as a metaphor as well: frozen ice in winter inviting us into quiet and stillness, spring rains bringing new life at the vernal equinox, the delights of the beach and the ocean in the summer, and the structured water in the nourishing fruits of the harvest in autumn.”
Music plays a large part in the seasonal celebrations, too. “We do not have a set seasonal repertoire, but music is a critical component of rituals like these since it reaches us on a deeper level,” Nelsen said.
“During our last ceremony on the spring equinox, Andreea Fegan (of Fegan Music Studio in Fair Haven) shared a beautiful original piece called ‘Spring.’ On the winter solstice a few years ago, Patty Cronheim shared an original composition about the darkest night that moved me to tears,” Nelsen recalled.
The seasonal celebrations, while based in joy, can also stir up “complicated” feelings, Nelsen noted.
“The emotions of the summer solstice are complicated by our climate-changed world. The joy of summer is tempered by the reality of climate-fueled severe weather impacts, such as an increased incidence of hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. Ceremonies like our Summer Solstice Celebration can create a safe container where we can hold the emotional complexity of grief in one hand and joy in the other,” she said.
She noted that Waterspirit offers additional eco-anxiety programming throughout the year for participants who are looking for more support of this kind.
Marking the seasons is another way of connecting with others and with our planet.
“Since we are all Earthlings experiencing the cycle of the seasons, we can build bridges across faith traditions through these eco-spiritual ceremonies,” Nelsen said. “Deepening our connection with Earth also increases our dedication to protect her.”
To learn more, visit waterspirit.org.
The article originally appeared in the May 22 – 28, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
