Science of the Summer Solstice

SCIENCE OF THE SOLSTICE

The word Solstice comes from the Latin "solstitium" meaning "Sun, standing-still." This year the Summer Solstice occurs on June 21 at 18:06 (6:06 PM) UTC, or Coordinated Universal Time, or Zulu Time, or roughly Greenwich Mean Time.

This is also known as the Northern Solstice as the Sun is positioned directly above the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. This time of year is known as Midsummer, though the official Midsummer Day is celebrated on June 24, thanks to differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Christian festivals during this time of year are related to the birth of St. John the Baptist. In Bolivia and Peru it's called the Festival of San Juan.

Earth enjoys different seasons because the planet is tilted 23 degrees and 27 minutes off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. This means that the earth revolves like a tilted spinning top. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of sunlight as the Sun is at its highest arc in the sky, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. The farther north one is from the Equator, the more pronounced this is in Summer. However, as the Earth continues its orbit, the hemisphere that is angled closest to the sun changes, and the seasons are reversed.

In the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears at its highest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice, so that it looks like the Sun is "standing still" until following the Summer Solstice, the days begin to grow shorter and the nights longer.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Father's Day

HISTORY OF FATHER'S DAY

The celebration of Father's Day goes back all the way to the beginning, actually to the Garden of Eden when Abel gave his father Adam a razor while his brother Cain gave his father a snake-skin tie. This was the beginning of Cain's downward slide.

Scholars have debated for ages why Mother's Day seems to be more honored than Father's Day. A parallel has been drawn between this phenomenon and that of the difference in popularity between the Irish patron saint and the Italian patron saint. The noted scholar, Father Guido Sarducci, papal legate and gossip columnist for the Vatican has pointed out that for St. Patrick's Day, we have lots of festivities, lots of green, celebrations and major parades. But for St. Joseph, a very good saint, there is nothing. The only thing he is known for is children's aspirin. Dr. Les Capable of Stanford University confirmed this research by saying "Ditto". Professor Illinois Smith, of the Department of Redundancy Department at the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California said much the same thing by repeating the same thing over and over again many times in a redundant and repetitive fashion.

The holiday was first canonized by Pope Hallmark in 1582 in the Papal Bull "Quando Ipso Facto Volare FTD Que Sera Sera" which translated means "When you care enough to send the very best". This was confirmed years later in the United States when one of the founding matriarchs, Ma Bell ordained and established both Mother's Day and Father's Day in an attempt to help bolster the fledgling nation's telecommunication coffers. It is well known that Mother's Day generally posts the highest volume of long-distance telephone calls of any single day of the year. It is not as well known that Father's Day posts the highest volume of long-distance collect calls.

Everyone has had a father, but not everyone can be a father, especially if you are a woman. But there are few challenges in the world that are more rewarding than being a father. It is a special joy and a great honor.

It is noteworthy, as we celebrate Father's Day, that the Bible refers to the Almighty as Father.

Happy Father's Day!

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

Children's children are the crown of old men;
and the glory of children are their fathers

Proverbs 17:6