Summer solstice brings festive parties across the globe
Summer officially kicked off in the Northern Hemisphere on Friday, as the summer solstice arrived. With the sun shining for its longest amount all year, observances of the day often includes outdoor festivities at megalithic prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge. Meanwhile, across the equator, the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing its shortest day of the year, which comes with celebrations of its own.
-
- People look at the horizon standing on the rocky crest filled with astronomical markers at the megalithic observatory Kokino, soon after sunrise, early morning on June 21, 2013, the day of the summer solstice. The ancient astronomic observatory, located about 100 km northeast of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, dates more than 4.000 years back in time. It is ranked by NASA as the fourth ancient observatory in the world. (Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- People look at the horizon soon after sunrise from the rocky crest filled with astronomical markers at the megalithic observatory of Kokino during the summer solstice. (Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- Macedonians celebrate the summer solstice at the Kokino megalithic observatory June 21, 2013. The 3,800 years old observatory was discovered in 2001 in the northwestern town of Kumanovo, 70 km (43 miles) north from capital Skopje, and is ranked as the fourth oldest observatory in the world.(Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)
-
- Macedonians celebrate the summer solstice at the marker of the Kokino megalithic observatory in Kumanovo. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)
-
- People raise their hands during a ritual at sunrise to celebrate the Aymara New Year on June 21, 2013 at the Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. A crowd gathered to receive the first rays of Tata Inti (god Sun) during the celebration of the winter solstice that marks the beginning of the 5521st year in the Aymara calendar. (Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- Aymara priests perform a ritual at sunrise to celebrate the Aymara New Year on June 21, 2013 at the Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. A crowd gathered to receive the first rays of Tata Inti (god Sun) during the celebration of the winter solstice that marks the beginning of the 5521st year in the Aymara calendar. (Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- An Aymara priest blows a “pututu” (a traditional wind instrument made with the horn of an ox or a conch) during a ritual at sunrise to celebrate the Aymara New Year on June 21, 2013 at the Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. A crowd gathered to receive the first rays of Tata Inti (god Sun) during the celebration of the winter solstice that marks the beginning of the 5521st year in the Aymara calendar. (Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- Aymara priests perform a ritual at sunrise to celebrate the Aymara New Year on June 21, 2013 at the Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia. A crowd gathered to receive the first rays of Tata Inti (god Sun) during the celebration of the winter solstice that marks the beginning of the 5521st year in the Aymara calendar. (Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- Revelers celebrate during the summer solstice at the ancient Stonehenge monument on in southern England June 21, 2013. Stonehenge is a celebrated venue of festivities during the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere – and it attracts thousands of revelers, spiritualists and tourists. Druids, a pagan religious order dating back to Celtic Britain, believe Stonehenge was a center of spiritualism more than 2,000 years ago. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
-
- A reveler gestures as he celebrates the summer solstice at the ancient Stonehenge monument in southern England. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
-
- Revelers celebrate the pagan festival of ‘Summer Solstice’ at Stonehenge in southern England, on June 21, 2013. The festival, which dates back thousands of years, celebrates the longest day of the year when the sun is at its maximum elevation. Modern druids and people gather at the landmark Stonehenge every year to see the sun rise on the first morning of summer. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- Solstice reveler Mad Al gestures as he joins druids, pagans and others celebrating the summer solstice at the megalithic monument of Stonehenge on June 21, 2013 near Amesbury, England. Despite cloudy skies, thousands of revelers gathered at the 5,000-year old stone circle in Wiltshire to see the sunrise on the Summer Solstice dawn. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
-
- A reveler celebrates the summer solstice by placing her hands on one of the stones at the ancient Stonehenge monument on Salisbury Plain in southern England June 21, 2013. Stonehenge is a celebrated venue of festivities during the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere – and it attracts thousands of revelers, spiritualists and tourists. Druids, a pagan religious order dating back to Celtic Britain, believe Stonehenge was a center of spiritualism more than 2,000 years ago. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
-
- A girl takes photos of the Kokino megalithic observatory during the summer solstice celebration in Kumanovo, Macedonia. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)
-
- A woman takes part in a group yoga practice at the “Solstice in Times Square” event in New York’s Times Square on the morning of the summer solstice, June 21, 2013. (Eric Thayer/Reuters)
-
- People take part in a group yoga practice at the “Solstice in Times Square” event in New York’s Times Square on the morning of the summer solstice, June 21, 2013. (Eric Thayer/Reuters)
-
- Participants practice yoga as part of a series of mass yoga classes set on Times Square to celebrate the summer solstice, in New York, June 21, 2013. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)
-
- A Bolivian Aymara witch doctor takes part in celebrations bidding goodbye to the old Aymara year in La Paz on June 20, 2013. Winter solstice coincides with the Aymara new year that begins on Friday. (David Mercado/Reuters)
-
- Llama fetuses are set on fire as part of offerings during celebrations bidding goodbye to the old Aymara year in La Paz June 20, 2013. Winter solstice coincides with the Aymara new year that begins on Friday. (David Mercado/Reuters)
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above
Brandt Hardin
Jun 21, 2013 @ 15:12:10
Today we welcome the longest days of summer. Stand under the All-Seeing Sun with some special Summer Solstice artwork at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-solstice-standing-still-with-all.html