This article is about the astronomical phenomenon. For other uses, see Winter solstice (disambiguation).
Winter solstice
Sunset at Stonehenge in England during the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
Also called
Midwinter; the Shortest Day; the Longest Night
Observed by
Various cultures
Type
Cultural, astronomical
Significance
Beginning of lengthening days and shortening nights
Celebrations
Feasting
Date
December 21, 22, or 23 (Northern Hemisphere) and June 20, 21, or 23 (Southern Hemisphere)
Related to
Winter festivals
The seasons with the transition points of the June solstice, September equinox, December solstice, and March equinox
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, and when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky.[1] Each polar region experiences continuous darkness or twilight around its winter solstice. The opposite event is the summer solstice.
The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere's winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (December 21, 22, or 23) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (June 21, 22, or 23). Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment, the term also refers to the day on which it occurs. The term midwinter is also used synonymously with the winter solstice, although it carries other meanings as well. Traditionally, in many temperate regions, the winter solstice is seen as the middle of winter; although today in some countries and calendars it is seen as the beginning of winter. Other names are the "extreme of winter" (Dongzhi), or the "shortest day".
Since prehistory, the winter solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures and has been marked by festivals and rites.[2] It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun; the gradual waning of daylight hours is reversed and begins to grow again. Some ancient monuments such as Newgrange, Stonehenge, and Cahokia Woodhenge are aligned with the sunrise or sunset on the winter solstice.
^Shipman, James; Wilson, Jerry D.; Todd, Aaron (2007). "Section 15.5". An Introduction to Physical Science (12th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 423. ISBN 978-0-618-92696-1.
^"Winter Solstice celebrations: a.k.a. Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, the Long Night, the start of Winter, etc". Religious Tolerance.org. August 5, 2015 [December 3, 1999].
The wintersolstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice...
either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (wintersolstice) for any place other than the Equator. Alternative...
continuous daylight at the time of its summer solstice. The opposite event is the wintersolstice. The summer solstice occurs during the hemisphere's summer....
progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates outside the polar regions differ from the date of the wintersolstice and depend on...
June solstice is the summer solstice (the day with the longest period of daylight), while in the Southern Hemisphere it is the wintersolstice (the day...
December solstice is the wintersolstice (the day with the shortest period of daylight), whilst in the Southern Hemisphere it is the summer solstice (the...
kheima, a hora of winter, early ancient Greece Beira, Queen of Winter, also Cailleach Bheur, a personification or deity of winter in Gaelic mythology...
Ancient Persians celebrated the vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and wintersolstice through a variety of different festivals and traditions...
Saturn god Inti Raymi: late June – festival of the Sun in Quechua, wintersolstice festival in areas of the former Inca Empire, still celebrated every...
religious significance. It is aligned so that the rising sun on the wintersolstice shines through a "roofbox" above the entrance and floods the inner...
the wintersolstice, though actually it occurred on the 22nd or 23rd at that time. Nowadays the astronomical timing has winter starting at the winter solstice...
The Dongzhi Festival or WinterSolstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; pinyin: Dōngzhì; lit. 'winter's extreme') is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated during...
fourth century, dates John's birth to the summer solstice and Jesus's birth to the wintersolstice. The nativity accounts in the New Testament gospels...
later Northern European winter festival of the same name, Yule was not likely celebrated by Germanic heathens at the wintersolstice before the Christianisation...
summer solstice, the day with the most daylight hours. In the Southern Hemisphere, June is the start of winter and contains the wintersolstice, the day...
Roman mid-winter holidays and, the talmudic hypothesis that Adam the first established the tradition of fasting before the wintersolstice, and rejoicing...
date as December 25. This corresponds to the traditional date of the wintersolstice on the Roman calendar. It is exactly nine months after Annunciation...
2017's Ti Amo. The singles "Identical", "Alpha Zulu", "Tonight", and "WinterSolstice" preceded the album. The band embarked on a tour in support of the...
decreases and night length increases as the season progresses until the wintersolstice in December (Northern Hemisphere) and June (Southern Hemisphere). One...
moon nearest the wintersolstice. Song's Yin calendar (殷曆; 殷历) began its year on the day of the new moon after the wintersolstice. After Qin Shi Huang...
5 degrees of latitude of the Pole, and there only on dates close to the wintersolstice. At all other latitudes and dates, the polar night includes a daily...
Hemisphere's wintersolstice (which is the shortest day of the year), the Sun will not rise all day, and on the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice (which...
Midsummer/Litha (Summer Solstice), Lammas (Full moon after autumnal equinox) and Sunwait (starts 6 weeks before WinterSolstice). Holy "day" is a misnomer...
24 hours (on the wintersolstice), and at least one day when the Sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours (on the summer solstice). In the middle latitudes...
align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and wintersolstice. The sunset alignments occur around May 28 and July 13. The sunrise...
The word solstice (Irish grianstad) means sun-standstill. The conception of Aengus may represent the 'rebirth' of the sun at the wintersolstice, him taking...
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