As if today being Monday wasn’t bad enough, it’s also the longest day of the year. Now, if you’ve spent the last nine months shuttling between your office and your apartment glimpsing only a smidgeon of sunshine in between, all this extra daytime can come as a shock. Suddenly it’s not quite so acceptable to spend your free time in a dark room watching Netflix ignoring everyone except the delivery person. You have to go outside and do outside stuff. You have to, you know, have fun in the sun.
So, how should you use today’s extra daylight? If you’re a Druid, Pagan, Wiccan or Swede you’ve probably got your plans sorted and have a nice maypole or prehistoric monument to convene around. If you don’t have any rituals planned, however, here are a few ways you can use the longest day of the year to its full advantage.
Win friends and influence people with fun summer solstice facts
For example: did you know that today is a once in a lifetime event? It’s the first time since 1948 when the first day of summer occurs with a full “strawberry” moon. Why is it called a strawberry moon? I’m so glad you asked. According to Nasa, it’s because it’s a full moon that signals the start of strawberry-picking season. The next time the strawberry moon and summer will align will be 21 June 2062. By then, the world will have suffered the Trumpocalypse, Brexit and several more Peter Thiel-funded lawsuits. We will all be dead or broke. So start picking your strawberries while there’s time.
Sip cocktails with fellow millennials at a trendy urban roof terrace
Arrive at the rooftop and exclaim how nice it is. Wow, you can almost see your house from here! Then realize there’s nowhere to sit, and because you are on a roof, leaving is going to be a hassle. Decide to grin and bear it or, more accurately, drink and bear it. Spend $16 on a frozen Strawberry Moon cocktail in a mason jar; tastes disgusting but looks great on Instagram. Put a photo of said cocktail on Instagram. #rooftop #summer #cocktails #friends #blessed. Once you have amassed a sufficient number of likes and have demonstrated to the world that you occasionally leave your apartment, flee from the venue and head home to watch Orange is the New Black in your living room in the dark, ignoring everyone except the delivery person.
Get yourself beach body ready
Find a beach and a way to get your body there. Planes, trains and automobiles are all good options. Voilà, you are beach body ready.
Get yourself Instagrammed-beach-feet ready
Do not underestimate the amount of time it takes to perfect beach feet selfie. Feet are gross and there is only so much gross Valencia can fix. The optimal beach shot involves a delicate sand/foot ratio that takes dedicated practice to achieve. Start early.
Explore nature with an outdoor SoulCycle class
So apparently there are bikes where, if you pedal, you go somewhere. It’s like SoulCycle but outside. While you may not have an instructor yelling motivational phrases at you feel free to whisper them to yourself as you pedal off into the latest sunset of the year. If you get a taste for this outdoor exercise stuff you can also swap your gym for an outdoor gym. These are sometimes known as “roads”. You can run on them and you don’t have to pay a membership fee. Cool, huh?
Have a meaningless summer fling
There’s an app for that. In fact, thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can find someone to have a meaningless fling with before your outdoor SoulCycle class and then Uber to your trendy urban roofterrace gathering while playing this year’s song of the summer on Spotify. Talk about getting the most out of your extra hours. The Druids have nothing on you!
