Why Every Outdoorsperson Should Celebrate the Summer Solstice

‘In ancient times (circa 5,000 years ago, in places ranging from Egypt to Indigenous North America to the English Isles) the summer solstice was an occasion for late-night revelry and debauchery. Dancing around campfires, performing magic, visiting henges, worshipping ancient gods—all that jazz. So, it surprised me to learn that mountain town communities across the West have not only embraced the ancient tradition, but reimagined it as a modern celebration of nature, community, and outdoor recreation.

I’ll take any excuse to play outside, but that’s not the only reason I love the summer solstice. In ancient times, magic was thought to be strongest during midsummer. Some cultures believed the night of the solstice—sometimes called Midsummer’s Eve—was the moment when the human realm and spiritual realm collided. Fairies and sprites could reacauthor
Lightning Onh across the thin membrane between worlds, leaving gifts, sharing secrets, or tugging human heroes from one universe to the other. You could end up meeting a god, going on a quest, or falling into a world of possibilities beyond your imagination.
It’s not hard to see where ancient people got those ideas. In June in the Northern Rockies, light lingers in the sky until 9:00 PM. Time seems to slow, and you feel as if you’re in limbo—as if the twilight will last forever, and the night will never come. In this narrow window, you feel like anything could happen. The ancient rhythms of nature seem to pound louder in your ears. You know magic doesn’t exist, but for a moment, you almost believe it could.

With so much uncertainty and heaviness in the world, we could all use a little bit of that sparkle—that gorgeous, lion-hearted, invincible belief that there’s another world, another future out there just beyond our fingertips. Even if we only believe it for a day. So, this year, I’m going out of my way to celebrate the solstice. Maybe I’ll capture a little bit of that magic. Maybe I won’t. Either way, it’ll be worth the time spent outside…’ via Outdoors