The Summer Solstice is a special day that happens every year around June 21st.
It can be a really magical and meaningful moment to celebrate with your kids.
A young boy on a bike in the setting sun
But what is the Summer Solstice? Do you know?
In the Northern Hempisphere, the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, which means we have the most hours of sun. On this day, we get to enjoy more light than on any other day!
The Summer Solstice occurs when the earth’s poles are most tilted most toward the sun. The sun is at its peak strength, giving us up to 15 hours of daylight in some regions.
It’s the opposite of the Winter Solstice, around December 21st, when we have the shortest day of the year, and the longest night — roughly 16 hours of darkness. After the Winter Solstice, the days start to lengthen and the nights get shorter.
On the other hand, once the Summer Solstice has passed, the nights start to get longer and the days shorter. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of long sunny days ahead to make lots of summer memories.
Why celebrate the Summer Solstice?
Well, people have been observing the Summer Solstice for thousands of years through rituals and festivities that recognize the power and magic of the sun. It's a time filled with fun, and celebrations. And it’s the perfect time to honor and say thank you for the warmth and light that the sun provides.
Typical ways to celebrate
Different cultures celebrate the Summer Solstice in their own ways, but many do similar things.
In Sweden, the longest day is celebrated with a festival called “Midsummer” and people create flower crowns, dance around a maypole, and feast on herring and potatoes. In England, people gather at the prehistoric monument Stonehenge, to see the sun rise. Many believe the stones were built to align with the sun.
A 12-year-old girl wears a flower crown
Some typical ways to celebrate the summer solstice in many cultures include:
Celebrating the element of fire, through bonfires and fireworks.
Dancing, singing, and playing music.
Getting together with family and friends and eating yummy foods of the season.
A busy time of year in nature
Because there’s so much sun at this time of year, it’s also a very busy time in nature.
Purple foxglove flowers
You’ll see:
Beautiful bright flowers
Busy bees and insects
Animals feeding their babies and teaching them important lessons (like how to forage and survive)
Yummy food from plants, too — like strawberries and peaches
It’s an abundant moment in the natural world around us and reminds us that there’s so much to be thankful for.
If you’d like to honor the Summer Solstice with your family and kids, here are 10 fun, simple suggestions for you to try together:
10 ways to enjoy the Summer Solstice with your friends and family
Idea 1: Enjoy a sunrise or sunset picnic
A sunrise or sunset picnic on the Summer Solstice is the perfect way to appreciate the longest day. Pack snacks and drinks and head to a scenic spot!
The beach or the top of a hill is ideal — but anywhere that you have a view of the sun rising or setting, works well. Getting up early in the dark before the sun rises, makes for a really memorable adventure. Watch the sunrise with your kids and talk about how it’s the start of the longest day of the year.
Or have a picnic at sunset and enjoy the warm summer evening. Explain to your children, in an age-appropriate way what the Summer Solstice is all about.
Idea 2: Spend time in nature. Go on a walk or scavenger hunt
Being outside during the Summer Solstice is one of the simplest ways to connect with the natural world around you.
All set for a gathering of people in the woods
Here are some ideas:
Go to a nearby park or forest and organize a nature scavenger hunt.
Play outdoor games like tag or hide-and-seek.
Build a fort or a tree house in your garden or in the woods.
Go for a bike ride or a hike (pack a picnic and plenty of water to drink).
Idea 3: Get crafty making sun-related art
Have fun and get creative with sun-themed crafts.
Make sun catchers, use body paint to draw a sun on your tummy, or create paper plate suns. Crafts are such a great way to help younger children develop fine motor skills, spark their creativity, and bond as a family.
A woman paints on the stomach of a little boy
Idea 4: Sing Mr. Golden Sun or other songs about the sun
Mr. Golden Sun is a popular children's song that’s perfect for celebrating the summer solstice. But any songs about the sun are great, too — for instance, You are My Sunshine or Here Comes the Sun.
Find the lyrics and music online or in children's songbooks. Have a fun and noisy family sing-a-long, don’t worry about how well you sing, just have fun!
Idea 5: Build a fairy home or garden
Some people believe that fairies or magic folk like elves and pixies are more visible around the time of the Summer Solstice! It’s deeply rooted in folklore and myths that this time of year is magical and the long light evenings mean we have more opportunities to see these little creatures.
Why not harness kids’ imaginations and sense of wonder and create homes and villages for these fairy folk to live in?
Go into the garden, park, or local woods and find materials that you could use to create fairy homes and gardens. These could be old bits of bark for roofs, stones for walls, or soft moss or grass for beds. Create a home for the magic people and decorate with flowers.
This sweet activity encourages creativity, teaches problem solving, and gives kids a wonderful opportunity to interact with nature.
Idea 6: Do a kid-friendly salute to the sun yoga sequence
Yogis traditionally do 108 sun salutations on the Summer Solstice. You can follow suit — but with a simpler version for kids.
Here’s a kid-friendly yoga flow to greet and say thank you to the sun. It reminds us to appreciate the light and the heat that helps plants grow. We also celebrate some of the animals in nature, too:
Start by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart.
Inhale and reach your arms up toward the sky. High five the sun.
Exhale and bend forward from your hips, as if you’re bowing down to the sun.
Reach your hands to the ground, and bend your knees if you need to. Touch the earth and say hello to it.
Inhale and step your right foot back into a lunge position. Pretend you’re a grasshopper and bounce on the spot.
Exhale and step the left leg back, raise your hips toward the sky, bring your chest toward your thighs, and come into a downward-facing dog position.
Imagine you’re a dog and wiggle your bottom as if you were wagging your tail. Woof like a dog!
Lower the knees to the ground, bring your belly, chest, and forehead to the floor. Place your hands by your shoulders. Raise your head slightly and imagine that you’re smelling some beautiful flowers as you gently turn your head from left to right.
Inhale, push into your hands, lengthen your arms, and lift your chest in Cobra Pose. Stick out your tongue and make a hissing sound like a snake — “ssssss!”
Exhale and lower your tummy and forehead to the floor.
Inhale, tuck your toes under, and push yourself back into downward-facing dog again.
Exhale, walk, step, or jump your feet toward your hands, so that you end up in a standing forward bend.
Swing your arms from left to right and imagine you’re a gorilla. Make the sounds a gorilla makes, too!
Inhale and slowly roll your body all the way up to standing. Your head is the last thing to come up.
Exhale, as you pause, in your original standing position with your hands by your side or in a prayer position at your heart.
Start the sequence again, but on the left side this time.
Repeat as many times as you like, working with the breath and adding in any elements you enjoy.
Sun saluting together in the woods
Idea 7: Make yummy seasonal fruit treats
Go to the farmer’s market as a family and choose seasonal fruit together. Eating locally grown food connects you and your children with the earth around them.
Fruits of the season include watermelon, strawberries, and peaches — and there are so many delicious treats you can make with them:
Make a fruit salad with all the fruits and add a little honey.
Make watermelon popsicles.
Freeze some strawberries and peaches and use them as ice cubes for cold summer drinks.
Make tasty smoothies or juices.
Idea 8: Think about your superpower!
The Summer Solstice is a really good moment to talk about the power and the strength of the sun.
Remember that the sun is a big ball of fire floating in space. The element of fire has huge potential to transform and make changes in the world around us. Remind your children that we have the same power and fire within us, too.
Here are some ideas:
Invite them to rub their hands together really fast to feel the heat in their body. Place their hands on their faces so that they can feel the generated heat.
Ask your child, “If you had a superpower, what would it be and how would you use it to make the world a better place?”
If they can’t think of anything, gently remind them of one or two powers that you think they have. It could be being kind, strong, creative or having a wonderful imagination.
Have your child create a symbol or draw a picture that represents their superpower.
Encourage your child to think about how they can use their unique strengths and talents to make a positive impact on the world.
Idea 9: Have a dance party!
A small boy wit face paint dancing at a festival
Dancing and moving our bodies is always a fun way to connect, and burn off some of your kids summer energy. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just turn up the music and have a dance party around your kitchen with your little ones.
Or alternatively, find some local live outdoor music at a festival or event and go dance the night away. Make some memories!
Idea 10: Reflect on the last six months and look ahead for the next six
The summer solstice is the half-way-point in the year.
Six months have passed since January 1st, and there’s now only six months left until a new year starts. This is a perfect opportunity for some quiet reflective time.
Gather as a family and look back over the last six months. What were the best things that happened during that time? What experiences were more difficult or challenging?
With this in mind, set one or two simple intentions or goals for the second part of the year. This could be as simple as saying a word you’d like to be for the next six months. For example, “happy” or “brave”. Another fun way to do this is to write your word(s) on a small piece of paper and place it in a jam jar.
Then on the Winter Solstice, pull out your pieces of paper and see if your intentions for the last six months have come true. This can be a very meaningful way to connect as a family.
Wrap up
The Summer Solstice is a magical day when we can connect with our families and the natural world around us. Many different cultures have celebrated the Summer Solstice for thousands of years, honoring the sun and all it gives us.
By having fun trying out some of these super easy activities, we hope you can bring more meaning and joy to your summer celebrations with your children.
Happy Summer!
Until next time in Circle, Jo x
Joanna OMeally - Freelance Health and Wellness Writer
Jo O’Meally is a Freelance Health and Wellness Writer specializing in women’s health, conscious parenting, and movement. An embodied yoga teacher, women’s circle host, and mother to three, she lives her words, from her home in the hills not far from Barcelona.