Summer Solstice Celebrations Around the World

Croatia Youths stand by a bonfire, on the eve of John the Baptist day, in Karlovac, south of the capital Zagreb.

In many regions of continental Europe, bonfires are made traditionally on June 24, which is, for Roman Catholics the solemnity of John the Baptist.

The rite is, however, older, and originally was a pagan celebration of the summer solstice and hence celebrated as "midsummer" on June 21.

(AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

AP Photo/Darko Bandic

China China does things a little differently to celebrate the year's longest day.

A dog waits to be sold for meat in a market in Yulin, in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Residents in the southern Chinese city that's come under fire for an annual summer solstice festival in which thousands of dogs are slaughtered for food have held their feasts early to avoid attention.

(AP Photo/Humane Society International)

AP Photo/Humane Society International

Bolivia Because the southern hemisphere is south of the equator, its summer solstice is celebrated in December.

Pictured here, Quechua indigenous spiritual guides hold their hands toward Titicaca Lake during a ceremony marking the solstice on the Isla del Sol Dec. 21, 2012.

(AP Photo/Juan Karita)

AP Photo/Juan Karita

Belarus Young Belarusians jump over a campfire on Ivan Kupala Day, an ancient night long celebration marking the Summer Solstice, the shortest night of the year, near the village of Vasilevichi, some 160 km (100 miles) west of Minsk, late Saturday, July 6, 2013.

Ivan Kupala or St. John's Day or Midsummer Day, is a traditional carnival, which centers around a bonfire with plenty of food and dancing.

(AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

AP Photo/Sergei Grits

Romania Young women dressed as summer fairies attend an event inspired by pre-christian traditions in Bucharest.

According to pre-christian traditions, fairies, called in Romanian 'Sanziene', come to earth around the summer solstice bringing fertility to land and beings for the coming summer.

(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

Puerto Rico Children cool off at a water fountain during the Summer Solstice in Old San Juan.

(AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo

El Salvador Mayan priest Jose Ernesto Campos explains to people the meaning of the Mayan ceremony that marks the summer solstice at the Mayan ceremonial center El Tazumal in Chalchuapa.

(AP Photo/Luis Romero)

AP Photo/Luis Romero

Switzerland Swiss and German friends watch a bonfire on a plateau overlooking the city of Zurich, Switzerland, as they celebrate summer solstice on June 21, 2007.

(AP Photo/Keystone, Gaetan Bally)

AP Photo/Keystone, Gaetan Bally

Spain People toast as they celebrate the San Juan night in a park in Barcelona. The San Juan night coincides with the summer solstice and it is the welcome to summer. This celebration takes place during the shortest night of the year in almost all cities and towns of Spain.

(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Colombia Arhuaco Indians attend a ritual ceremony in celebration of the summer solstice in their ancient capital of Nabusimake, at the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern Colombia June 21, 2007.

(AP Photo/William Fernando Martinez)

AP Photo/William Fernando Martinez

Russia The supreme priest of Russian neo-pagans prays to his gods celebrating the summer solstice in Maloyaroslavets, some 200 kilometers north-west from Moscow June 27, 2009.

The festivities of Ivan Kupala or John the Baptist is similar to Mardi Gras and reflects pre-Christian Slavic traditions and practices.

After the 1991 Soviet collapse Russia has seen a revival of Russian Orthodox church along with a surge of peripheral movements and creeds.

(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev

Russia Summer Solstice

Moldova Moldovans dance in Stefan cel Mare park Sunday June 21, 2009 during the summer solstice. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

(AP Photo/John McConnico)

AP Photo/John McConnico

Bahrain An unidentified Bahraini man watches the sun set June 21, 2006 at a Delmon settlement in Sar that dates back to 1900 B.C.

A few dozen archaeologists, officials and listened at the site to Saudi archaeologist Nabeel Yousuf al-Shaikh Yaqoob explain his theory that the 4,000-year-old civilization positioned an unusually angled corner of its temple, at right, to line up with the setting sun on the summer solstice, thereby allowing priests to declare the start of the new year.

If true, Yaqoob claims the Delmonians would have been the first to use a solar calendar in the ancient world.

(AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

AP Photo/Hasan Jamali

Israel People take part in a salsa performance during celebrations as part of the White Night festival on June 27, 2013 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

White Night festivities take place in cities around the world and see thousands celebrate the prolonged daylight that occurs in areas of high altitude during the summer solstice.

(Getty Images/Ilia Yefimovich)

Getty Images/Ilia Yefimovich

Norway Colourful huts are seen during Midsummer on June 21, 2008 in Longyearbyen, Norway.

Longyearbyen is the seat of Norwegian local administration in Svalbard, 620 miles south of the North Pole, and was founded in 1906 by the American John Munroe Longyear who started coal mining here, an important part of the local history ever since.

Longyearbyen was only opened for general tourism in 1990 and is a haven for eco-tourists who come to see the abundant polar bears, seals and whales. Svalbard consists of a group of islands.

(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images

New York Yoga practitioners celebrate the summer solstice during the Mind Over Madness event in New York's Times Square June 20, 2012. At least 14,000 people attended on the longest day of the year.

(AP Photo/Jeffrey Furticella)

AP Photo/Jeffrey Furticella

Alaska The sun sets over Westchester Lagoon just before 1 a.m. in Anchorage. Daylight in Anchorage will peak Friday at 19 hours, 21 minutes on summer solstice.

(AP Photo/Dan Joling)

AP Photo/Dan Joling

Pittsburgh David Willey, a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, walks on a bed of hot coals as part of the Carnegie Science Center's Summer Solstice celebration, Sunday, June 24, 2007, in Pittsburgh.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Seattle Large puppets pass parade goers at the 32nd annual Summer Solstice Parade held in the Seattle's Fremont neighborhood on June 21, 2003.

(AP Photo/John Froschauer)

AP Photo/John Froschauer

England Following an annual all-night party, people rest during the summer solstice shortly after 04:52 a.m. at the prehistoric Stonehenge monument.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

England People dance during the summer solstice shortly after 04:52 a.m. at the prehistoric Stonehenge monument, near Salisbury.

Following an annual all-night party, thousands of new agers and neo-pagans waited at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge for the sun to come up, but cloudy skies prevented them.

They danced and whooped in delight marking the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis