The Winter Solstice, or the December Solstice, is the point at which the path of the sun in the sky is farthest south. At the Winter Solstice, the sun travels the quickest path through the sky leading to the day of the year with the least sunshine and therefore, the longest night.In the lead up to the Winter Solstice, the days end up being shorter and much shorter, then on the evening the solstice– in the Northern Hemisphere occurs annually on the 21st or 22nd of December– winter season starts, according to NASA.From then onwards the days become significantly long leading up to the Summer Solstice, or the June Solstice, and the longest day of the year. When is the Winter Solstice 2021? This year the Winter Solstice will take place on Dec. 21. Throughout the day, the Northern Hemisphere will have simply 8 hours and 46 minutes of daylight. Then at 10:19 pm, Earths axis will be titled in such a way that the North Pole of Earth faces the outermost away from the sun it will reach.To be accurate, the Winter Solstice marks what is known as the “huge winter season”– however do not fret, this does not indicate it will be chillier than any other winter season. The moniker is merely adopted to identify it from the meteorological winter.While the astronomical change of seasons is associated with Earths position around the sun and its axis, the meteorological seasons are marked by the very first day of a particular month. Meteorological winter season proceeds astronomical winter season by three weeks, happening on Dec. 1. The Winter Solstice is an annual event, Earth actually experiences 2 Winter Solstices each year. One in the Northern Hemisphere, the other in the Southern Hemisphere.The Winter Solstice: Earths journey around the sunThe light from the sun is not evenly distributed throughout the surface of the Earth. The planets axial tilt means areas of our world receive more sunlight at various times of the year. (Image credit: NASA/ISS Expedition 13 )According to Britannica, Earths axis has an around 23-degree tilt and without this, not only would our world not have a Winter Solstice, it would not have seasons at all. The axial tilt of the Earth suggests that as our world journeys around the sun different locations of the world experience differing degrees of sunlight.Without the axial tilt, the sun would remain straight about the Equator, and everywhere on earth would receive the exact same amount of light the year through. During the Winter Solstice, the North Pole is slanted at around 23.4 degrees far from the sun, implying its rays move southward from the Equator. To imagine this tilt, think of skewering the Earth on a huge pole from the Northern Hemisphere, through the center of the planet, and down to the Southern Hemisphere.This pole represents the Earths axis and is poking out into space from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, according to a short article published on NASAs Watch the Skies blog site. During December, the part of the pole that extends from the Northern Hemisphere is pointing away from the sun.Visualizing this pole, it quickly ends up being obvious that as the Northern pole is angled away from our star, the Southern pole need to be angled towards it. That indicates Winter Solstice represents half of our worlds solstices. The other 2 are the Summer Solstices, and you may be unsurprised to discover that the 4 solstices are adjoined. The Winter Solstice: North and SouthThe Earth in its orbit around the sun throughout the solstices. Throughout the December Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere points away from the sun, the Southern Hemisphere towards it. (Image credit: Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock)While the Winter Solstice is taking place on Dec. 21, 2021, in the Northern Hemisphere, this date will mark the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. Unsurprisingly, as the Southern Hemisphere experienced its Winter Hemisphere on June 21, the Northern Hemisphere has in the midst of its Summer Solstice.Just as the Winter Solstice marks the point in the tilting of Earths axis at which it points outermost from the sun, the Summer Solstice marks the point at which our planet has its optimum axial tilt towards our star.Think about the fictional “Earth pole” again. If the part extending from the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the sun, the part of the pole extending from the Southern Hemisphere points towards our star.During the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the pole that extends from this half of the world is pointed towards the sun. Hence in the Southern Hemisphere, that pole points away.This reflective practically mirror image nature extends into the phenomena surrounding the opposing solstices.The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year, the Summer Solstice marks the longest duration of sunshine. Following the Summer Solstice, the days end up being increasingly shorter, simply as the days become longer after the Winter Solstice. During the Summer Solstice, the sun appears at its most northerly in the sky, the Winter Solstice, as discussed, sees it as its most southerly. Today we understand the astronomical events that cause the solstices and their impact on earth and we can envision cosmic poles that impale our planet. But for our ancestors, these days had almost supernatural significance, suggesting not only were they marked by both events and celebrations, they frequently birthed dark folkloric tales. The Winter Solstice: History and folkloreFinnish mythology recommended that the shorting of days leading up to the Winter Solstice was the result of the witch queen Louhio stealing the sun. (Image credit: WikiCommons/Turku Art Museum)The significance of the Winter Solstice to our forefathers was most likely a result of the reality it marked the lengthening of days, resulting in its credibility as a time of rebirth.Because of its significance, there are just a lot of Winter Solstice celebrations and events to list. The first that springs to the minds of numerous is the Christian celebration of Christmas. The birth of Jesus Christ was not constantly commemorated around the Winter Solstice. The adoption of Dec. 25 was pioneered in 336 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Constantine.Historians speculate this was done by the Emperor as a move to damage recognized pagan events that happened around the Winter Solstice. The date would not be accepted by the Eastern Empire for around another 500 years, and Christmas wouldnt become a major Christian festival up until the 9th Century.The residues of these overshadowed pagan traditions remain in our Christmas events, for instance and according to the totally free dictionary, the Scandinavian Winter Solstice festival of the Feast of Juul included the burning of Juul logs to signify the returning of the sun, offering rise to the Christmas tradition of Yule Logs.The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, which specified by Britannica, starts on Kislev 25 usually falling in December and lasting for eight days, is also a winter event likely affected by prior Winter Solstice celebrations. With little understanding of the Earth-sun system and what huge bodies were, a number of our predecessors Winter Solstice events marked routine celebrations of the death and rebirth or even the theft and return of the sun.One such tale is the Finnish myth that centers around Louhi, a powerful and evil witch that ruled over the mythical northern realm of Pohjola. In the misconception, Louhi steals the moon and the sun away, holding them captive inside a mountain, triggering the subsiding daylight leading up to the Winter Solstice.Of course, the superstitious elements of the Winter Solstice have diminished as our knowledge of the solar system and astronomy has actually increased. Now we utilize heating unit and electric lights to hold the cold and dark of winter season back and offer little idea to the danger of sun-theft. Fortunately, some customs remain. Festivals around the Winter Solstice still mark a time to collect and celebrate even after all of our advances and the vanquishing of superstition by science.
The Winter Solstice, or the December Solstice, is the point at which the course of the sun in the sky is farthest south. That means Winter Solstice accounts for half of our worlds solstices. Unsurprisingly, as the Southern Hemisphere experienced its Winter Hemisphere on June 21, the Northern Hemisphere has in the middle of its Summer Solstice.Just as the Winter Solstice marks the point in the tilting of Earths axis at which it points furthest from the sun, the Summer Solstice marks the point at which our planet has its optimum axial tilt towards our star.Think about the fictional “Earth pole” once again. The Winter Solstice: History and folkloreFinnish folklore recommended that the shorting of days leading up to the Winter Solstice was the outcome of the witch queen Louhio taking the sun. (Image credit: WikiCommons/Turku Art Museum)The significance of the Winter Solstice to our ancestors was most likely an outcome of the fact it marked the lengthening of days, leading to its reputation as a time of rebirth.Because of its significance, there are merely too lots of Winter Solstice festivals and celebrations to list.