In short...
Themes: The summer and winter solstices; the seasons and the Earth’s orbit around the sun; celebrations of the solstices around the world, including at Stonehenge; the beauty of the natural world.
Summary: The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year and the winter solstice the longest night. This assembly is particularly suitable on, or near, the summer solstice - usually 21 June. The winter solstice - usually 21 December - is likely to fall during the Christmas holiday. It can be used at other times of the year to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and to support curriculum objectives regarding the seasons.
Resources: The framework to download / print and an image of celebrations at Stonehenge.
The video
There are four seasons in the year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. And throughout the year, the days and nights get longer and shorter as the seasons change.
The longest day happens in the summer, and the shortest day in the winter. The longest day is known as the summer solstice, and the shortest day as the winter solstice. But what causes the solstices to happen?
The Earth spins on its axis and each complete rotation takes 24 hours, or one day. As it spins, the Earth also orbits around the sun, and each complete orbit takes one year. But the Earth does not spin on a vertical axis - it is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees.
This means that different parts of the planet are pointing at or away from the sun at different times of the year, meaning the amount of sunlight that reaches these regions will change. When the North Pole is tilted towards the sun, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In December, the winter solstice marks the exact moment the Northern Hemisphere is tilted the furthest away from the sun. This is the shortest day of the year, and it means it has the fewest hours of daylight.
The summer solstice happens when the angle of tilt towards the sun is at its greatest, and so we have the most hours of daylight.
The Southern Hemisphere points towards the sun when the Northern Hemisphere points away from it, so the people living there experience their seasons and solstices at the opposite time of year. When it is winter in the UK, it is actually summer in Australia.
The sun is vital to human existence - for light, food and warmth - so that helps to explain why celebrations of the solstices stretch back hundreds - probably thousands - of years.
In the UK a famous place to celebrate is Stonehenge, which was built about 5,000 years ago. Back then, people living in Britain were pagan. And over the last 100 years or so, there has been a revival of ancient pagan traditions and worship including celebrations held at Stonehenge led by Druids. The Druids believe Stonehenge has always been a place of worship, and it is likely that people gathered at the stone circle at both summer and winter solstices to carry out rituals and ceremonies relating to the changing seasons.
Today, hundreds of people - including Druids - still travel to Stonehenge to celebrate the sunrise on the summer solstice, and the sunset on the winter solstice, and to take part in the same kind of rituals and traditions that may have happened at the site for thousands of years.
Around the summer solstice, people living in countries near the Arctic Circle, like Norway and Iceland, won’t see the sun set at all.This is a natural phenomenon called the 'Midnight Sun'. During the night, when the sky is normally in complete darkness, the sun can clearly still be seen and the evenings remain bright, like here in Alaska!
“What’s fun about Alaskan summers is that you can stay up late and play outside, and it never gets dark, but it’s also hard to sleep.”It is exactly what it sounds like. The sun is still up at midnight.
Whilst people in the Northern Hemisphere are celebrating their summer solstice, those in the Southern Hemisphere will be experiencing the winter solstice. Many festivals and celebrations are also held in these parts of the world with their very own traditions.
Not everyone celebrates the solstice with a big festival, but it is a good way to mark the passing of the seasons and enjoy the longest days and nights in our own way.
The solstices – and the seasons in general - are a consequence of the Earth’s axis being tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, meaning that different parts of the Earth are angled closer to the sun at different times of year. There is a common misconception that the Earth must be closer to the sun during the summer - but this is not so.
When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere - and vice versa.
Celebrations of both solstices are held at Stonehenge each year, led by Druids. Stonehenge was built about 5,000 years ago and there is no consensus on its precise purpose, though Druids believe its function has always been as a place of worship. Neo-pagan celebrations at Stonehenge gained popularity from the early C20th onwards.
The summer solstice is an opportunity to celebrate the long summer days. The winter solstice reminds us that cold, dark days will eventually pass and the summer return.
Duration: 4' 43"
Final words: '…days and nights in our own way.'
Video questions
- How long does it take the Earth to make one complete rotation (Almost exactly 24 hours - one day) How long does it take the Earth to make one complete orbit of the sun (Almost exactly 365 days - one year)
- What causes the seasons? (The fact that the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, meaning that during its orbit of the sun different regions of the planet are angled towards or away from the sun)
- Why does the UK celebrate the summer solstice at the same time as Australia is celebrating the winter solstice? (When the Northern Hemisphere is pointing towards the sun the Southern Hemisphere is pointing away from it)
- What is the ‘Midnight Sun’? (It refers to those places that are so far north that the sun never actually sets and remains visible throughout the ‘night’)
Key links
Assembly framework (pdf) document
Print out the assembly framework ready for use
Image: celebrations at Stonehenge. image
Click to display image full size
Suggested framework
1. Entry
You could display the picture of Stonehenge and play your chosen music, perhaps a song about the sun / sunshine – there are plenty of famous ones to choose from!
2. Introduction
Ask the assembly to identify some of the ways that summer is different from winter. Gather responses and steer the discussion towards an acknowledgement that the days are longer and warmer in summer. Ask the assembly if anyone knows why the days are longer and warmer in summer. Gather responses again (children may suggest that the Earth is nearer the sun during the summer, but this is not so).
Ask if anyone knows what a ‘solstice’ is? Gather responses and tell everyone that the video they are about to watch is about the summer and winter solstices and some of the ways they’re celebrated around the world. While they watch the video, ask the assembly to think about how important the solstices would have been to people in the past.
3. The video
The duration is 4' 43" and the final words are: ‘…the longest days and nights in our own way.'
4. After the video - Time to talk
Lead a discussion about the seasons of the year by asking some or all of the following:
- Now that you’ve seen the video, can you say why we get seasons on planet Earth? (Because Earth’s axis is tilted, and different parts of the planet are pointed towards the sun at different times - looking for general awareness that it’s related to the axis not how far or close the sun is)
- Some people say they like the summer and some people say they prefer the winter. Which season do you like best - and why? (Gather responses)
- Imagine you are living long ago - perhaps as long ago as the people who created Stonehenge. Why is the sun so important to you? (The sun is needed for light, warmth and to grow crops - it is essential to life)
- Why do you think those people living long ago would have celebrated the solstices? Which solstice do you think may have been more important to them - summer or winter? (It may be significant that the winter solstice marks the turning of the year and the gradual return to longer, warmer days)
Finally, if your assembly is happening in mid-summer, invite the children to: ‘Turn to the person next to you and tell them what you most like doing on the longest day - the summer solstice.’
5. Opportunity to sing
Suggestions from BBC collections below.
6. Opportunity to reflect
Focus your reflection on the way the seasons change between the summer and winter solstices.
Sit quietly and think about how life must have been very different in the past, when the changing seasons would have had such an impact on people’s lives…
The summer and winter solstices remain important to us now as well…and are celebrated around the world…
Think about the things you like to do in the summer…and the things you like to do in the winter…and how different they are…
8. Opportunity for prayer
Begin with your usual form of address ('Dear God', 'Let us pray', etc) and:
Thank you for the variety of the ever-changing seasons, which give us the summer and winter solstices.
Thank you for all the special things we’re able to do in the long summer days and the winter days too.
Help us to appreciate the sun and the light, heat, and food it gives us.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Song: 'All things bright and beautiful' (Come and Praise, no 3. Vocal version)
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings:
Chorus
The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky:
Chorus
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them everyone:
Chorus
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty
Who has made all things well:
Chorus
'For the beauty of the earth' (Come and Praise, no 11)
Song: 'He's got the whole world' (Come and Praise, no 19. Vocal version)
He’s got the whole world, in His hand,
He’s got the whole wide world, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world, in His hand.
He’s got the wind and the rain, in His hand,
He’s got the wind and the rain, in His hand,
He’s got the wind and the rain, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world in His hand.
Chorus
He’s got the sun and the moon, in His hand,
He’s got the sun and the moon, in His hand,
He’s got the sun and the moon, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world in His hand.
Chorus
He’s got the plants and the creatures, in His hand,
He’s got the plants and the creatures, in His hand,
He’s got the plants and the creatures, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world in His hand.
Chorus
He’s got everybody here, in His hand,
He’s got everybody here, in His hand,
He’s got everybody here, in His hand,
He’s got the whole world in His hand.
Chorus
Related content from BBC Teach
Geography KS1/KS2: The seasons - a short animated film about the four seasons
Science KS1/KS2: The changing seasons - time-lapse photography of the changing seasons