Winter Solstice Is Around The Corner — Here’s Everything You Need To Know

We are now only a couple of weeks away from the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year — which occurs on December 21st this year. The hours of daylight during the winter solstice are staggeringly 9 hours less than those of the summer solstice.

During this time, the Sun travels the shortest path through the sky, and that day therefore has the least daylight and the longest night, marking the official first day of winter that lasts until the spring equinox on March 20th, 2025.

According to Royal Museums Greenwich: “The world ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin ‘solstitium’, meaning ‘Sun stands still’ – because the apparent movement of the Sun’s path north or south stops before changing direction.”

How the winter solstice is celebrated

While of course, you can make the most of the solstice by staying cosy at home, some communities celebrate this winter event.

The Met Office explained: “Amongst the many festivals that centre around the solstices and equinoxes, the Scandinavian festival of Jul has some rituals that are probably more familiar than you think.

“Perhaps more familiar to us as Yule, the 12-day festival centred around the solstice has given birth to many of our most familiar Christmas traditions including the Christmas tree, the Yule log and the Christmas wreath.”

Space.com said: “Today we are aware of the astronomical events that lead to the solstices and their effect on the planet and we can imagine cosmic poles that impale our planet.

“But for our ancestors, these days had almost supernatural significance, meaning not only were they marked by both festivals and celebrations, they often birthed dark folkloric tales.”

Space.com reckons that this was probably a result of the fact it marked the lengthening of days, leading to its reputation as a time of rebirth.

Who needs new year when you have winter solstice?!