Summer Solstice is a celestial occasion that is the longest day of the year; usually it happens in late June, around either the 20th or 21st in the Northern Hemisphere and on December 21st or 22nd in the Southern Hemisphere. Many look at the day through an astrological or mystical perspective. In this guide, though, we take you on an engaging universal journey to take part in the Summer Solstice celebration that makes you experience all your five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
How to celebrate the Summer Solstice:
1. Summer Solstice “Sight” Practices:
Basking in the Sunny Sunshine: Nothing is easier to do to mark the day. Spend a few moments if you can’t afford more. Just feeling grateful for the biggest star that keeps our Earth balanced.
Top Tip: If you’d like, you can host a sun gazing party for your friends and family members as a Summer Solstice sensory experience. From the sunrise to the sunset, just watching these beautiful events and taking in the warmth can be exhilarating.
Take A Tour (Either Virtual or In-Person)
The guides of the summer solstice tour mostly tell you about the sun symbols, a little history about the day, its impact on nature, and more information according to the type and the age group of the tour you have chosen.
Sun Printing
In Sun printing or Cyanotype art, you create patterns with the help of the sun. This creative activity can be helpful to engage the children and teens for the summer solstice (under supervision).
2. Summer Solstice “Sound” Rituals
Have you noticed that the sounds of the environment are different from season to season? The winters are known for their chilly winds, the monsoon for its rain, and well, summer’s soundtrack is about birdsong and buzzing bees, to name a few. If you have not taken this factor into account, then you already have an audible activity covered for the Five Senses summer ritual; simply listening to nature sounds around. You can take a walk around the neighborhood, park, or anywhere to notice.
Some other examples of Solstice activities aim at listening:
Making or listening to a playlist
We all have a playlist for the smallest to the most difficult of tasks, so how about creating one to provide an ethereal background for your five senses summer rituals as well?
From fun, upbeat tracks to slow, aesthetic ones, you should include them to your heart’s desire, or listen to one of the playlists already curated and available on the net:
Hang Wind Chimes
These traditional musical items play a delightful sound as the wind touches them. Wind Chimes also make your house beautiful from the outside as you hang them around your porch or window.
3. Summer Solstice ‘Smell’ Activities
Scent is the most emotionally evocative sense, according to the studies. In order to get a deeply resonant Solstice experience, you just need to make a little effort to make it aromatic! Make it a reflective day with Summer Solstice self-care activities as you burn candles, incense sticks, and essential oils to make your home smell amazing.
If you want to take a mystical route, then the aromatic and “soul”-calming activity of burning herbs like lavender and rosemary is a must.
[If you have time, then you can make these burning aromatics at home yourself, or even include your loved ones to make these together at home.]
4. “Taste” Summer Solstice Sensory Experience
Who can say no to indulging in nature’s feast day? While we order takeout a lot more than before, we should treat the solstice as a day to focus more on in-house organic ingredients and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Go to a local market to buy for your summer solstice meal, and you’ll find different items you haven’t even thought of. Try the fresh, vibrant foods and support the vendors with your purchases.
Grill or barbeque food outdoors as you enjoy lively conversations and soak up in the sun.
5. Summer Solstice traditions for “Touch”
Of course, like any other traditional article on the Summer Solstice traditions list, I’d recommend going to a park near your area to let the sunshine fall on your face. But here are some other fun activities that let you really feel the “tangible” wonders of the world:
Go to the beach if it’s around your house; it’s one of the most beautiful landforms, which has a USP unlike any other… They appeal to people of all ages! Walking or playing in the sand can make you feel happy, just like “earthing,” another popular health wellness trend…
{Hyperlink to another BB article}
Make a Suncatcher
Put on the playlist in the background we talked about in our earlier list of “listening” summer solstice activities and build a simple DIY suncatcher to mark the occasion!
Go Hiking
Summer and spring are the perfect times to take a hike amid the magic of the environment, literally! Whether you are going to a rocky surface or in a forest, you can observe the surroundings around and even take a journal along as you question and compare different things, such as the types of summer flora and fauna, the different birds, animals around, and more.
[Remember though, just because this activity is counted among “touch,” you shouldn’t literally pick up everything in the wild. Rather, engage with caution; for example, don’t touch plants or animals you don’t know about; the serene summer solstice activity may not take much time to turn scary after that.]
To End
With these ideas, you can rejoice in the Summer Solstice celebration using all five senses. Even if you are not the most spiritually connected person, just taking a day out of the whole year to indulge in these small nature activities can make you feel relaxed. It gives a delightful pause in life, something we don’t get the time to do most often.
