summer solstice

by

Dawson City

Good Day Brave Hearts

The celebration begins.  June 21 is a special day for the Indigenous People of Canada.  The longest day of the year marks the first day of summer and is celebrated by all of us, in one way or another.

From that mountain top hike to enjoy  the view, to the joy of  just  being outside in the sunshine for a long summers day, the summer solstice is a celebration of light, sun, earth and summertime.  It’s a day to be outside.  A day that is given to us to enjoy the light.  Enjoy the sun, the sunshine and  celebrate the beginning of summer.

The warm summer sun washes us and frees us of the chill of winter.  Our clothing is light and we shed the winter coat of down, fur, or layers that protect us all winter long.  We can swim in the warm lakes and bask in the warm sun.  Sun worshippers are we.

Add to the joy of just another summer solstice, the longest day of the year is also a celebration of Indigenous Peoples, who also long to enjoy the warm summer sunshine, to feel the warm summer breeze and to cast off the cold, winter’s night that is always too long.  The sun is rising and in some parts of our world it will not set at all.  With thanks, we celebrate this new light show.  Gone are the Northern Lights, now it’s only the sun, for twenty four hours a day.  We are nearly at the Arctic Circle.

This beautiful little town of Dawson City is a gem in the Yukon.  A bright and prosperous mining town, still selling nuggets of gold and revelling in the gold rush days.  It’s a place of history, of champions, of people who made a living in a harsh reality that was the gold rush.   It was not an easy place to be.  The history of this divine place is of hardship, strife, difficulty and doom  It’s also a history of fantastic fortune, of fun and folly and of clever enterprise.  It’s a brilliant story, way up in the north.  A booming small town, still gold rush rich, it oozes the gold rush days.  Fine buildings in immaculate condition, brightly painted and artistically designed.  This was a place of privilege and so it goes.  There’s still gold in those hills.

Exploring Dawson City in the Yukon (The heart of the Klondike Gold Rush)! – YouTube

The other rich, is the people.  A fine and determined group of settlers who wouldn’t leave this place, and a fine and determined group of Indigenous people who already belonged to it.  They belong to the land, it is theirs, it belongs to us.  The age old right of occupancy, of who fits in and where.  The right of the Indigenous clans to keep what’s theirs, the right of the settlers to occupy for prosperity.  It’s what needs are.  There is gold here, we stay.

The celebration is of fine minds, of people who care for this awesome and inspiring place.  It’s a celebration of music, of stories, of plays, fun and food.  It’s a day long celebration of praise for the people.  It’s a day of necessity.  Take the day, enjoy the music, indulge in the goodness of this day.  A day for praise, for harmony, for joy.  It instills the self worth that is necessary. We are one, we are whole, we are a people.

Joy to us, for this great day of celebration.  It’s a fine day, for fine people.  Happy are we, for the joy that it gives us. Happy are we for the celebration.  Happy are we for the summer solstice and for Indigenous Peoples Day.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 26, 2023

 

The First day of Summer
by

The First day of Summer

Happy Solstice!

Hail bravehearts, to the dawning of this new day.   A day of light and summer.  A day of celebration.  A day of wonder and awe.  Today the sun shines most brightly on the great planet and casts it’s warm rays of heat and light upon us. Today is the longest day.

Here, in our part of the world, we will have daylight till after 11 pm and the sun will rise brightly  early in the morning.  It is a day of joy and celebration as the great Earth spins its way into another summer.

Summer!  The season of holidays, heat, gardens, barbeques and  the great outdoors.  This is the season where we also shed our warm winter attire and bask in the glorious sunshine.  A season for sunscreen and insect repellent, beaches and bathing suites. The time of year of the carefree summer days, the long and relaxing days of summer life and summer play.  The warm sunshine calls us  from our homes and beckons us to leave our comfortable nests and step into the world of the great outdoors.

Summer!  The blessings of the sun as it shines upon us and fills our world with green and color.  Warm.  It is now the time of warm!

The feeling of your body as it wakes to a dawn of bright light.  Come!  calls the sunshine.  Rise and shine with me.  Come outside and play in the warm, dazzling light and feel the splendor of this great new day.  Come, feel the joy of summer, the blooming of the Earth, the warmth of the lakes and the cool of the fresh waters.  Come outside to feel the joy of summer, with it’s heat and fragrance and the freshness of the rain.  Smell the newly cut grass and the warm summer breezes, feel the warm wind in your face and the cool splashes of rain water.  The planet has changed itself again today, and the lazy air of restful summer is upon us.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33211353  summer solstice at Stonehenge

From the time of ancient man, the dawn of summer has been celebrated on a day in June, when the day is the longest.  A day when all of the crops are planted and the time is marked by the long length of daylight.  A day to celebrate the life that the earth gives and the superb placement of this celestial planet as it passes near to the sun in it’s yearly orbit around our life giving  shining star.

The reason for stonehenge is still a mystery,  but the placements of the stones indicate the celebration of summer as the sun rises and it’s light shines in a specific path. The huge rocks placed in a sort of circle where people can gather  to watch the rising sun and marvel at the brilliant idea of this festive day.  To be a witness to the first light shone upon the Earth on this glorious day of sunshine and daylight.

Lucky for us to be in such a place, in such a time, to live in such a place as this.  A world full of wonder and history.  A world full of awe and excitement.  A world where mysterious ancient man, rose to celebrate the first rays of dawn on the longest day of the year.  Lucky for us, that today is a new day,  a new season.  Welcome to summer!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 21, 2015