Summer Solstice Explained: What You Need to Know About the Longest Day of the Year

Forget the cold, dark days of winter. Sunday June 21 is the longest day of the year, celebrated as the summer solstice. Technically, the solstice will arrive at 1:24 a.m. (4:24 a.m. ET) in the United States. Here are some basic facts about the solstice.

What is the summer solstice?

As the Farmer’s Almanac explains, the solstice occurs “when the Earth arrives at the point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its maximum inclination” toward the sun, or about 23.5 degrees; this translates to “the longest day and shortest night” of the year. (By “longest day,” we mean the longest stretch of daylight hours.) The Farmer’s Almanac further explains that “on the day of the June solstice, the northern hemisphere receives sunlight at the most direct angle of the year.”

The solstice does not always occur on the same date. In 2027 it will be June 21 again, but in 2028 and 2029 it will be June 20.

The June solstice has a different meaning for people in the southern hemisphere, where it is the shortest day of the year and marks the start of winter.

How much sun will you see?

The amount of sunlight you will receive depends on where you live.

You can determine this for your city by going to TimeAndDate.com, typing your city name under world clock, and clicking on Sun and Moon. From there, click Sunrise and sunsetthen scroll down to the table that shows the number of hours of daylight per day. To see how many hours of daylight you will receive at the solstice, be sure to select June for the month, then scroll to the correct day.

The further north you are, the more sun you will have: Minneapolis, you have 15 hours and 36 minutes of sun. Seattle, you land in 15 hours and 59 minutes. Boston, 3:17 p.m. San Francisco, 14 hours and 46 minutes. Los Angeles, 14 hours and 25 minutes. Dallas, you have 14 hours and 18 minutes. Miami, 1:44 p.m. Atlanta, 2:23 p.m. Phoenix, 2:22 p.m.

And let’s talk about the Land of the Midnight Sun. Anchorage, Alaska gets 19 hours and 21 minutes. But Fairbanks gets 21 hours and 49 minutes. And at the very top of the state, in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the sun rises for 24 hours. It’s worth going to their TimeAndDate.com page just to marvel at it.

Celebrate the solstice

Some countries and cultures actually celebrate the solstice. Sweden calls it the summer solstice and always celebrates it on a Friday in June. The country will therefore mark the solstice on June 19 instead of June 21. Traditional festivities include folk dancing, wreath making and maypole raising. (And you may have seen the 2019 horror film Midsommar, which depicts a fictional and very scary celebration of the summer solstice.)

In Seattle, where these luxurious 16 hours of sunshine take place, the traditional Solstice Parade and Fair takes place on Saturday, June 20 at 1 p.m. and features the traditional naked cyclist ride (where cyclists wear elaborate body paint).

And at Stonehenge, the iconic English landmark, people gather in front of the famous stone structures, just as their predecessors did thousands of years ago. The monument’s enormous stones were erected in 2,500 BC to frame the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice, notes the British Museum. Note that since it is no longer 2500 BC and car-dependent, visitors are strongly encouraged to use public transportation, and if you must drive, you must reserve parking in advance.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, CNET editor-in-chief, journalist and pop culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She has been a journalist since 1989 and works for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and NBC News Digital. She is part of Generation X in terms of date of birth, words and deeds. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line. See full bio