What Day Is Winter Solstice 2015: Tuesday, December 22, is the Winter Solstice, which means it is the longest night and shortest day of the year. The longest night of the year will happen on Monday, December 21. This is because the Winter Solstice is coming up. This event in the sky is related to a yearly cycle in a way that makes sense.
Simply put, the Winter Solstice is the day when the Northern Hemisphere has the shortest day in the 12 months that Earth goes around the Sun. Most people think that changes in the distance between the Earth and the Sun cause yearly changes, but this is not really the case. People don’t agree with the idea that distance controls the seasons because the Earth’s aphelion, or farthest point from the Sun, happens in July, and its perihelion, or closest point, happens in early January.
An important factor is the “Angle of Insolation,” which is also called the angle of solar radiation or the Sun’s height above the southern horizon. As the year goes on, the Sun moves 47º from its highest point to its lowest point because of the Earth’s axial tilt of 23.5º. The tilt of the Earth, not the distance between it and the Sun, sets the seasons. Axial tilt makes temperature, so the Equator would be the warmest place on Earth if it weren’t for axial tilt. Winter Solstice is a reminder of how difficult the Sun’s dance with Earth is.
The First Day of Winter: Winter Solstice 2023
A meteorological winter starts about three weeks before the winter solstice, but a celestial winter starts on the winter solstice. The winter solstice starts winter in both hemispheres. It happens once a year in the Northern Hemisphere in December and once a year in the Southern Hemisphere in June. Interestingly, the summer solstice happens at the same time in both regions, but the winter solstice can only be seen in one.
On the solstice, one-half of the Earth faces away from the Sun, and the other half faces toward it because the Earth’s axis is tilted. The result is this event.
Most people think that the winter solstice lasts all day, but it only lasts a short time. It is, in fact, the exact moment when a hemisphere tilts away from the Sun the most, as the picture below shows.
What Happens on the Winter Solstice?
Because Earth is turned as far away from the Sun as it can get, the Sun’s path across the sky is at its narrowest during the winter solstice. When the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, its standard path makes an arc above. The Sun’s path is higher in the sky in the summer and lower and closer to the horizon in the winter.
Check out your shadow outside at noon on the solstice to see how it changes you. You’ll cast the year’s biggest shadow. But if you do this again on the summer solstice, you won’t see any shade. This shows how the Sun’s position in the sky changes from season to season.
Winter solstice: The shortest day and longest night of the year
It has been getting darker earlier in the Northern Hemisphere since the summer solstice in June. This is because the longer nights are making the days shorter. However, things are about to change in a bad way.
For most of the Americas, Thursday, December 21, is the winter solstice, which means it is the shortest day of the year and winter has begun. People have been interested in the mechanics of solstices and equinoxes for thousands of years. This is because they are a mix of old traditions and scientific information from around the world.
As the Sun rises directly above the Tropic of Capricorn on the winter solstice, the longest day ends, and the shortest night begins in the Northern Hemisphere.
In contrast, the December solstice marks the start of summer and the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, which is home to about 10% of the world’s people. In South Africa, Madagascar, Argentina, and New Zealand, this change was seen.
Winter Solstice Activities
Take part in a solstice rite that is based on paganism or local traditions. Follow Pagan customs and meditate in the dark on the night before the solstice. Then, sing and chant Pagan songs to celebrate the Sun’s arrival. Set a calm mood with lots of candles and a fireplace or an outdoor fire circle for the Yule log-burning tradition.
Today’s druids gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the solstices every year. If you stand inside the memorial in a certain way and face east through the gateway toward the Heel Stone, you can see a beautiful sunrise. The structure of Stonehenge was built at least 3,000 years ago, and this exact alignment shows how well it was put together. This event is very special and one of a kind.
You can make important goals before New Year’s Eve. Use the Winter Solstice instead. One note should be a wish or a goal for the coming year, and the other should be a reflection on a certain part of the past year to let go. Think of the solstice as a time to meditate and think about things.
Winter Solstice Facts & Traditions: The Shortest Day of the Year
The Winter Solstice is interesting because it is celebrated all over the world, even if only one group does it. However, the fact that people have always remembered how the Earth moved around the Sun, or how they thought the Sun moved around the Earth, shows that people have the same experience.
Solstice parties go back to 2500 BC, when the Egyptian pyramids were built, and go on before famous people like Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad were born. Solstices are interesting to people of all ages and countries because they bring to light something that has always been true about being human.
Is winter solstice always December 21?
The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere’s winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (21 or 22 December) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (20 or 21 June). Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment, the term also refers to the day on which it occurs.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice is on June 20 or 21, and in the Northern Hemisphere, it is on December 21 or 22. It takes place during the winter in that hemisphere. “Winter solstice” can refer to both the important event and the whole day it happens. The word “midwinter” is also often used to refer to the winter solstice, even though they mean different things. Many temperate places see the winter solstice as the middle of winter, but in some other places and on some dates, it marks the beginning of winter. This day is also called the “extreme of winter” or the “shortest day.”
Many groups have held celebrations and traditions in honor of the winter solstice since ancient times. It represents the Sun’s death and return, and it also represents the end of gradually shorter daylight hours and the start of longer ones again. Some historic places, like Stonehenge, Newgrange, and Cahokia Woodhenge, are set up so that they face either the sunrise or sunset on the winter solstice.
Why is winter solstice so powerful?
Symbolically, this day also represents the triumph of light over darkness, signalling the gradual return of longer days and the promise of renewed life. Occurring around December 21st in the Northern Hemisphere (Friday the 22nd in 2023), it symbolises the rebirth of light and the return of the Sun.
As the Sun goes down, the cold air gets even colder, and the Winter Solstice is a turning point in the natural processes. Since this event happens at the same time as the year’s smallest day and longest night, we are encouraged to think about what it means and how we relate to nature.
As a sobering reminder of how life goes in cycles, the Winter Solstice is a worldwide holiday with roots in ancient cultures and traditions. It’s afternoon, and the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. This makes the day dark and the shades wider. As the days get longer again, this day marks the beginning of a new life and the win of light over darkness. In the Northern Hemisphere, this event will happen on Friday, December 22, 2023, around December 21. It represents the Sun’s return and the renewal of light.
The Winter Solstice is mostly thought of as a change from darkness to light. Once this turning point is reached, the days get longer, which represents the slow return of warmth and life that brings the once-dead surroundings back to life.
What is the longest day of the year called winter solstice?
The two solstices happen in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22). These are the days when the Sun’s path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. A hemisphere’s winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer solstice the year’s longest.
In 2012 and 2013, the two solstices fall on June 20 or 21 and December 21 or 22. The northernmost and southernmost points of the Sun’s path around the Equator are marked by these times. The longest day of the year in one hemisphere is the summer solstice, and the smallest day of the year is the winter solstice. On June 21, the summer solstice starts in the Northern Hemisphere, where the North Pole is closest to the Sun, and its rays shine straight over the Tropic of Cancer. In the other direction, winter starts at the December solstice, which is when the South Pole tilts closest to the Sun and the Tropic of Capricorn gets the most sunshine. This is because the seasons are backward in the Southern Hemisphere.
The equinoxes happen between March 21 and September 23. These days, day and night, last the same amount of time because the Sun is straight above the Equator.
Which gods were born on the winter solstice?
In Egyptian lore, it’s believed the Great Mother Goddess Isis gave birth to her son Horus, the Sun God on the Winter Solstice. In Greek mythology, the Goddess Leta gave birth to the bright, shining Apollo. Mithra, the Persian God of Light and guardian against dark evil was born on the solstice.
As the solstice is thought to be the moon giving birth to the Sun, some Pagans enjoy Yule as a time to focus on the energy of the Moon Goddess. In Egyptian legend, the Winter Solstice is when Horus, the son of the Great Mother Goddess Isis and the Sun God, was born. In Greek legend, the beautiful Apollo was born to the goddess Leta.
People think that Mithra, the Persian God of Light who guards against darkness and evil, was born on the solstice. In their ways, these different cultural stories show how important the winter solstice is in many myths and rituals.
Who first celebrated the winter solstice?
These celebrations occurred several centuries BC. Scandinavian history shows that the Norse began their Yule traditions at winter solstice. In honor of the returning sun, large logs were set afire. These could take as long as two weeks to burn, during which people feasted (and presumably drank copious amounts of grog).
During the Neolithic time, which lasted from 10,200 B.C. to the end of the Stone Age, people probably first noticed the winter solstice.
The winter solstice dawn lines up with important Neolithic sites, such as Maeshowe in Scotland and Newgrange in Ireland. Archeological research shows that these tomb-like buildings would have also had a religious purpose. They would have been used for Stone Age ceremonies meant to catch the light on the shortest day of the year.
The fact that Stonehenge faces the sunset of the winter solstice suggests that people in the Stone Age may have used it for ceremonies in December. The long-standing connection between historic buildings and natural events makes the winter solstice celebrations even more historical.
The Winter Solstice in 2015, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year, occurred on December 22nd. As the Northern Hemisphere tilted farthest from the sun, this astronomical event symbolized the official start of winter. People across the globe celebrated this celestial occurrence, emphasizing its cultural and spiritual significance.
In various traditions, the Winter Solstice is seen as a time of reflection, renewal, and the promise of longer days ahead. Festivals and rituals, often tied to the rebirth of light, illuminated the darkness of the season. The day itself held profound importance in Earth’s natural rhythm, reminding us of the ever-changing dance between the planet and the cosmos.
