As Masons we are encouraged to study astronomy as one of the liberal arts, so that we may gain a better understanding of the world we share. As I am also the Publicity Chairman of the Santa Monica Amateur Astronomy Club http://connect.to/smaac, please allow me to share a few thoughts with you.
Monday, June 21 we passed one of the two major milestones of the astronomical year: summer solstice. This was the longest day and the shortest night of the year. At our latitude, this translates to 14 hours and 20 minutes of daylight and 9 hours and 40 minutes of darkness. From this day forth, until winter solstice, the sun will rise a little later and set a little earlier. Its arc through the sky will seem a little flatter each day. At 5:57 Pacific Daylight Time on Monday, the summer of 2004 began.
Being able to calculate (and predict) the year's two solstices is one of the most significant human achievements. The movements of wild animals, their procreation, the times for plants to sprout, bloom and produce seeds, the changes in weather, sea currents and winds -- all cycles on Earth depends on the seasons, which depend on the position of the Sun relative to the Earth. Once man gained understanding of this mechanism, he was able to set the ideal time for hunting, warfare, building houses, planting, harvesting and for all other activities. The creation of calendars was the next, logical step.
The two solstices were once the most important holidays of the year, often celebrated with bonfires and communal feasts. In the U.S., as part of our puritan (and anti-pagan) heritage, summer solstice is no longer widely acknowledged. In Europe, however, remnants of the old traditions remain. Britain celebrates "St. John's Eve" or "Midsummer's Eve". (Shakespeare refers to it in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). In the Alps, people climb mountains and build huge bonfires which can be seen from the valleys. As a boy growing up in Europe, I remember one of the most popular activities for boys: jumping over the fire and through the flames (and trying to outdo each other, of course. We used to soak our clothes and hair in water to protect ourselves from the heat). I guess today's soccer moms would not exactly approve of this idea.
We now know that summer and winter solstices have been observed by neolithic hunter and gatherer cultures around the world, probably as far back as 30.000 years ago. To the best of our knowledge, the Egyptians, Sumerians as well as Celtic/Germanic peoples in Europe were the first to calculate and predict these events accurately and in advance. This feat was then repeated by other high cultures around the world, which all had one thing in common: a functional calendar.
Apart from the obvious practical advantages of this knowledge, it was a philosophical milestone as well. It created the notion that the world and the changes of all things therein were structured and organized. Thus, they were following preexisting natural laws which may be contemplated, investigated and partially understood by man.
Best regards,