I know that for many people, the summer solstice is one of the most wonderful days of the year. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn’t really know what the solstice was all about until the Good Harbor Hill Players and North House Folk School began bringing solstice puppet pageants to the community.
I’ve seen the special date on the calendar all my life— Summer Solstice, First Day of Summer—but I never really thought about what it meant. Actually, growing up in Northeastern Minnesota, I did reflect on the solstice, rather cynically.
First day of summer? Not on the North Shore. The cooling effect of Lake Superior keeps the first day of summer at bay, sometimes until mid- July.
When I was called upon to write about solstice events— winter and summer—for the newspaper, my brain was teased. I was sure I had learned about the solstice in science class at some point in my life. There must have been discussion about this phenomenon along with lessons about the planets and solar system. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention during that chapter.
So when puppets were being made and costumes created and dances designed for the Summer Solstice pageant, I thought there might be something to the idea of celebrating the arrival of a new season.
And I checked out my trusty Webster’s College Dictionary to find that a solstice is the moment or date when the sun reaches its maximum distance (north or south) from the equator. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs around June 21. On that day, because the sun is at its highest point in the sky, daylight lasts longer. That’s kind of nice; I can celebrate that.
However, I found a pseudo-holiday that I like even more. Apparently, according to a Good Housekeeping magazine I was reading while being forced to slow down in a lobby somewhere, June 21 is not just the Summer Solstice. It is the International Day of Slowness.
According to Good Housekeeping, the International Day of Slowness (IDOS) was first observed four years ago in Milan, Italy. It was enacted as a day to stop the frantic pace of modern life. It was developed as a day to “stop and smell the roses.”
I think the founders of IDOS got the idea from the solstice, which is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). Time to just stand still. Time to celebrate the warmth of the sun as it shines for a little bit longer.
Unfortunately June 21, 2011 falls on a Tuesday. Not many of us can take a Tuesday off to relax—whether we want to celebrate the solstice or the International Day of Slowness.
But I think I will give it a try. Maybe I’ll sit on the porch and savor that first cup of coffee. I could take a leisurely stroll down my driveway or spend a few minutes on the phone talking to a friend. Perhaps I’ll eat lunch on a park bench. Sounds nice and slow, doesn’t it?
If you see me rushing around on the Summer Solstice, remind me to slow down! The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Sydney J. Harris
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