Midsummer 101

It was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year in Middleton.

Early in the morning, a group of college students studying Agronomy at their local community college walked into the campus classroom for their next Agricultural lecture. The students, all ranging in age from anywhere between 18 to 40, all took their seats, got their notebooks and pencils ready, put away their phones and tablets, and looked towards the professor's podium.

A few moments after the class got settled in, the professor walked in the classroom and took his place at the classroom podium. The professor was a tall middle aged man with a buzz cut hairdo and a goatee. He then assembled his papers and cleared his throat.

"Hello, students! I'm Lewis Clark, I'm a professor of Agronomy here at Middleton Community College. My lecture is about what the important thing about today is. You all know what today is, right?" Asked professor Clark.

A student raised his hand.

"Yes?" Asked the professor.

"June 20th?" Said the young man.

"That's true." Started Professor Clark. "But that isn't the only answer to that question I'm looking for. Can anyone tell me anything else about this day that's important? Anyone?"

A female student raised her hand.

"It's the Summer Solstice, right?" Said the young woman.

"That is correct, miss!" Professor Clark started. "Today is the day of the Summer Solstice: the longest day of the year! Does anybody know why the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year?"

Another man raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Axial Tilt?" Asked the student.

"Bingo! On the Summer Solstice, Earth's maximum Axial Tilt is 23.44 degrees, whereas the sun's decline from the celestial equator is also 23.44 degrees as well, making the Summer Solstice the longest day of the year, whereas the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year! Good job!" Answered the Professor.

The Professor then turned on a college projector. The projector showed an image on the blackboard of the Earth tilting at a 23.44 degree angle next to an image of the sun declining from the celestial equator at a 23.44 degree angle as well. The professor pressed a button on the remote control for the projector, and the projector projected an image on the blackboard of the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer on a world map. "However" added the professor. "The Sun supposedly crosses a given latitude once before the day if the Solstice and once afterwards, so the area of the Earth's surface between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer gets to experience two summer solstice events in a year! In Temperate regions, especially in Europe, the Summer Solstice "Midsummer"!"

The professor then showed an image on the projector showing a collection of dates.

"And here you can see a list of all the Dates that the Summer Solstice has been dated on the calendar as far back as the last four hundred years based on the Gregorian Calendar."

A male student raised his hand and asked. "Professor, just what does the Summer Solstice have to do with Agriculture?"

"Excellent question!" The Professor said. "For thousands of years, farmers have traditionally marked the Midsummer as the "halfway point" between the planting season and the harvesting season, when Crops were growing until they were almost ready to reap, but not quite, so the Farmers would celebrate a good crop."

The professor then went through projections of images of bonfires, people dancing around a Maypole, and a swedish woman in traditional midsummer garb. "Some cultures celebrated with Bonfires, festivals, feasts and dancing around a maypole, usually held on the Night BEFORE the solstice. In Lithuanian folklore, the dew on Midsummer made young girls beautiful and the elderly look younger. They had also thought that walking with bare feet in the dew would prevent one's skin from getting chapped. And in Sweden, today is the day of Midsommar. Midsommar day is the second biggest holiday of the year in Sweden next to Christmas day. They celebrate by taking the day off, essentially. In Austria..." started the professor, flipping the remote control on the projector again. "They observe the summer solstice with a procession of ships down the Danube River followed by Fireworks and bonfires."

The projector showed an image of Australia.

A student raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Professor, that's not Austria, that's Australia." Said the girl.

The professor turned around to the see the picture and just like the girl said, the image showed the continent of Australia on a map. The professor blushed, looked down and massaged either side of the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"Oh, so it seems that way. I guess there might have been a miscommunication with the A/V team. Well, this is embarrassing." Professor Clark then switched to the next slide on the projector, clearing his throat again awkwardly. This afternoon, the town is going to be holding a town wide Summer Solstice festival, and attendance is free, so I suggest that you attend it for further reference." 

It was at that point that a freshman student opened the door and peeked into the room.

"I'm sorry, is this classroom 3B?" Said the boy.

"No, this is classroom 3C, that's next door!" Said the professor politely.

"My mistake!" Said the boy. The boy then closed the door.

Another student raised his hand.

"Isn't today also St. John's day?"

"Yes, when Europe was Christianized, the Christians renamed the Summer Solstice "St. John's day" in honor of John the Baptist to get rid of the Pagan cultural references." The professor then looked at his watch. "And this concludes our lecture. I hope you've been taking plenty of notes, because there will be a test tomorrow! Enjoy the festival!" Said the professor.

The students walked out of the classroom as Professor Clark tidied up his belongings, getting ready to leave.

"I'd say I've earned myself a Latte!" Said the professor to himself on his way out.

*sources: Wikipedia, National Geographic, Farmer's Almanac.