[ExI] Happy Solstice!

[Amara Graps]

Alex Ramonsky:
>..Something that I have wondered for many years...Does anyone know why
>the Midsummer Solstice/Midwinter Solstice are called so, when (at least
>in the UK) they're considered to be the _beginning_ of summer/winter?
>  The Celts treated them as the middle of the seasons...Is this one of
>those eccentric British things or is there genuine worldwide confusion?

It's more than just the Brits who call it that, and probably worldwide.

I don't know, but I guess it has more to do with climate and pagan
traditions. They are really big in the northern European countries.
I remember participating in one on Sweden in 1985 that was fantastic
(dancing around the pole and all of that). Someday I'll have to see
what the Janis celebration is like in Latvia.

This describes something about the midsummer traditions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer

And here's one explanation from an astronomer (who has no experience of
European traditions)
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/badseasons.html

Amara

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Amara Graps, PhD      www.amara.com
Associate Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute (PSI), Tucson
INAF Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Roma, Italia