MIDSUMMER!

Today is what's called Midsummer or the Summer Solstice or the First Day of Summer.  I don't know how it can be both the middle of summer and the first of summer at the same time.  Frankly, I think it's very confusing, and I am not going to try to explain it.  I am just telling you what I learned while doing my research.

Maybe you remember when I told you all about the Winter Solstice.  Well, the Summer Solstice is the opposite of that because now the top part of the earth is leaning toward the sun, and this means that it's hot outside and also that there is more daylight, so you can mow your grass at 8 p.m. and still mostly see what you are doing.

In some countries, the Summer Solstice is a really big deal, like especially in Scandinavia and other places in Europe.  In some of these countries, Midsummer is actually a Big Official Holiday where everybody gets to stay home from work and celebrate.  And the main ways that people celebrate are by building bonfires and by dancing around maypoles and by drinking.

In Sweden, for example, people decorate their houses with flowers and leaves and stuff, and they also decorate a maypole.  Of course, it's kind of weird to call it a "may" pole in June, so another name for it is "midsummer pole."    Here's a painting that was made by a Swedish artist named Anders Zorn in 1897, and it shows people dancing to celebrate Midsummer.

And here are some modern Swedish people dancing around a midsummer pole.

Another place where Midsummer is a big deal is in England, like especially in Cornwall, which is that little pointy part that sticks out at the bottom left.  People like to make bonfires there on top of hills or where there are some old castle ruins.

Also there's this place called Stonehenge, where people put a whole bunch of humongous rocks in a circle thousands and thousands of years ago, and now nobody remembers why the rocks were put there.  But it may have something to do with figuring out when it's the solstice, so people go there and have lots of parties and stuff.

The real solstice is on June 21, but a lot of Midsummer celebrations are on June 23 and 24.  The reason for this is because the solstice was a very ancient pagan festival, and it had to do with scaring away all the evil spirits and also with making all the crops grow.  But when Christianity came to Europe, the solstice got made into more of a celebration of St. John the Baptist, who was supposedly born on June 24.  So the pagan stuff and the religious stuff got kind of mixed up together, and that's why not everybody has parties on the exact same day.

Anyway, for dogs and other animals with fur, what the summer solstice means is that it's time to get busy shedding your old winter coat and growing in your new one.  And this is because before you know it, cold weather will be here again, and you will want a nice, thick coat to keep you warm!