Wild summer solstice festivals from around the world

Wild summer solstice festivals from around the world - This year, the summer solstice falls on June 21, and people from across the Northern Hemisphere are flocking to celebrate the longest day of the calendar. From yoga and bonfires to neolithic stones and strawberries, discover how cultures across the globe celebrate Midsummer by clicking through this gallery.

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Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK -

Each year, thousands of people flock to watch the sunrise over the prehistoric monument. The crowds dress up, do yoga, and celebrate the longest day of the year.

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Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK - The site holds special significance for the Pagan and Druid communities, who perform rituals here at the winter solstice too.

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Kupala Night, Belarus - Celebrated in many Slavic countries, it is in Belarus that the pagan traditions of Ivan Kupala remain most loyal to their past. Celebrators jump over bonfires as a test of bravery.

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Kupala Night, Belarus - Girls make wreaths of flowers and release them onto the waters. Searching for fern blossom, night swimming, and flower collecting also form part of the revelry.

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Solstice in Times Square, New York, USA - The middle of one of the world's busiest pedestrian areas might not seem like a place of zen, but every year on the summer solstice thousands gather here to practice yoga!

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Yoga in Times Square, New York, USA - The "Mind Over Madness Yoga" sessions are a relatively recent phenomenon that nevertheless seek to celebrate the traditional summer solstice themes of renewal, rejuvenation, and creativity.

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Inti Raymi, Cusco, Peru - Though this Inca festival usually falls around the Southern Hemisphere's winter solstice, it celebrates the Sun God ("inti" means "sun" in Quechua), and has become associated with the northern summer solstice.

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Inti Raymi, Cusco, Peru - The celebrations take place at the Fortress of Sacsayhuamán in Cusco, and include bright-colored costumes, music, and the sharing of food.

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Secret Solstice Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland - As the world's most northern capital city, it's unsurprising that Reykjavik puts on a spectacular range of celebrations on the summer solstice.

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Secret Solstice Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland - The four-day Secret Solstice Festival, which was first launched in 2014, has locals and foreigners partying hard during the rare 72 hours of sunlight.

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Midnight Sun Game, Alaska, USA - When your baseball pitch is located in the Land of the Midnight Sun, it doesn't matter if your annual baseball game runs late into the night.

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Midnight Sun Game, Alaska, USA - The game has been played each year since 1906. It starts at 10:30 pm and plays through the night under 100% natural light.

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Midnight Sun Celebrations, Svalbard, Norway - Norway is famous for its long daylight hours during the summer months, but in the archipelago of Svalbard, the sun doesn't set at all from April to late August.

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Midnight Sun Celebrations, Svalbard, Norway - Local celebrations of the event are pretty low-key in these Arctic islands, but nothing beats walking on a glacier at midnight and drinking in the red, sunken sun.

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Midsommar, Singö, Sweden - If you fancy a Nordic island that's a little warmer, Singö offers quiet respite from the riotous solstice parties in Stockholm. Expect flower gardens and maypoles aplenty.

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Midsommar, Singö, Sweden - Swedes will typically drink flavored Schnapps and munch on boiled potatoes with dill, cured salmon, pickled herring, and most importantly, strawberry cake!

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Wianki, Poland - "Wianki," which means "wreaths" in English, and is also the name given to Poland's Midsummer celebrations.

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Wianki, Poland - The festival maintains pagan traditions of fortunetelling and floating wreaths on water, and originally celebrated fertility and the Slavic goddess of love and harvest, Kupala.

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Jāņi, Latvia - In Latvia, Jāņi is the celebration of Midsummer. The holiday period traditionally sees people flocking to the countryside to pick flowers, search for the mythical fern flower in woods, eat, drink, and stay up all night!

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Jāņi, Latvia - However, in capital city Riga there are more contemporary takes on the celebration. A festive program is set out on the banks of the Daugava River for revelers to be merry and enjoy.

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Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade, California, USA - The three-day festival, which celebrates the start of summer, apparently originated as a small birthday party for local mime and artist Michael Gonzalez in 1974.

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Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade, California, USA - Over the years, the celebrations became a huge parade and joined forces with the Summer Solstice Music Festival. Today, it is larger than life!

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Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, Ottawa, Canada - The summer solstice and Canada's National Indigenous Peoples Day combine to put on an exuberant display of arts, culture, and creativity each year in Ottawa.

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Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, Ottawa, Canada - The festival celebrates above all the traditions of the Algonquin people. In 2018, visitors enjoyed culinary and arts and crafts workshops, as well as the vivid Pow Wow dance competition.

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Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival, Ottawa, Canada -

The festival celebrates above all the traditions of the Algonquin people. In 2018, visitors enjoyed culinary and arts and crafts workshops, as well as the vivid Pow Wow dance competition.

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Saint John's Eve, Spain - On the evening of June 23, towns and cities across Spain celebrate Midsummer, which roughly coincides with the summer solstice. It is widely known as San Juan, but names vary from region to region.

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Saint John's Eve, Spain -

Fireworks are set off, bonfires lit, and special food and drink consumed as revelers go a little crazy and party the night away! A curious pagan tradition in the town of Soria even sees men walking barefoot over hot embers...

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Solstice Fires, Tyrol, Austria - The Alpine region of Tyrol in Austria takes Midsummer bonfires to a whole other level. Originally a Medieval tradition, the lighting of mountain fires on the summer solstice became an official Austrian UNESCO cultural practice in 2010.

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Solstice Fires, Tyrol, Austria - After sunset, flames and chaotic celebrations erupt over the mountains of Ellmau, Going, Scheffau and Söll, which partygoers can access by cable cars that run til late.

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Festa Junina, Brazil - Brazil's June Festival doesn't quite live up to the extravaganza of Carnival, but the month-long celebrations also include vibrant costumes, and local food, dancing, and music.

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Festa Junina, Brazil -

Though the celebrations take place in the Southern Hemisphere, they draw from the European festivals of St. John the Baptist and the summer solstice.

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