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Summer solstice and strawberry moon: a once in a lifetime event

It was delightful starry night as water rippled peacefully onto the shores of Stuart Lake in Fort St. James.
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First day of summer on Stuart Lake in Fort St. James.

Barbara Latkowski

Caledonia Courier

It was delightful starry night as water rippled peacefully onto the shores of Stuart Lake in Fort St. James.

But on June 20, it wasn’t just an ordinary night.

The summer solstice coincided with the strawberry moon, an event that takes place only every 70 years.

The cosmic event is a special day for many.

Being the longest day of the year, the summer solstice marks the start of summer. Its name is derived from the Latin solstitium, meaning “sun stands still”.

For different cultures around the world, this can be symbolic of renewal, rebirth and harvest.

Pagans and druids perform a fire ritual to celebrate the occasion.

In Sweden, it is tradition to mark the occasion by eating your way throughout the entire day and every year, pagans and non-pagans arrive at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England to welcome in the summer.

The strawberry moon was named by early Native American Tribes and marks the beginning of the strawberry picking season.

The June full moon occurring on the same day as the summer solstice hasn’t happened since June, 1967, considered to be the summer of love.

And this year, the event did not disappoint as I decided to lift my eyes to the skies after sunset to take in this most uncommon treat.

Whether some believe the occasion to be good time to enjoy the extra hours of sunlight, others also believe it a good opportunity to take stock of what you have in your life.

Whether it’s by waving money at the strawberry skies to bring good fortune or to contemplate what matters most in your life, the moon did not disappoint.

This momentous meeting of sun and moon is also said to bring an outburst of peace and love according to astrologers.

So whatever it may bring, this was a once in a lifetime sighting and could not have been better celebrated than on the tranquil shores of Stuart Lake.

And for those of you who missed it, there’s always 2062.