Winter Solstice 2018: the Shortest Day of the Year

Winter Solstice 2018: the Shortest Day of the Year, Amid the whirl of the holiday season, many are vaguely aware of the winter solstice, but how much do you know about it? Whether you're a fan of winter or just wish it will go away, here are 10 things to note-or even celebrate-about the solstice.

The date of the winter solstice varies from year to year and can fall anywhere between December 20 and December 23, with the 21st or 22nd being the most common dates. The reason for this is because of the tropical year-the time it takes to return to the same spot relative to Earth-is different from the calendar year. The next solstice occurring on December 20 will not happen until 2080, and the next December 23 will be solstice until 2303.

Not only does the solstice occur on a specific day, but it also occurs on a specific time of day, corresponding to the instant the North Pole is aimed at the furthest off from the sun on the 23.5-degree tilt of the Earth's axis. This is the time when the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. In 2017, this moment occurs at 4:28 p.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). For those of us on Eastern Standard Time, the solstice will occur at 11:28 a.m. On December 21. And regardless of where you live, the solstice happens at the same moment for you (you can check it time for you here).

THE LONGEST NIGHT AND SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR FOR THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

As most are aware, daylight hours grow shorter and shorter as the solstice approaches, and begin to slowly lengthen later. It's no wonder that the day of the solstice is referred to as the "shortest day" or "extreme of winter." New York City will experience 9 hours and 15 minutes of sunlight, compared to 15 hours and 5 minutes on the summer solstice. Helsinki, Finland, will get 5 hours and 49 minutes of light Barrow, Alaska, will not have a sunrise at all (and has not since mid-November; its next sunrise will be on January 22), while the North Pole had no sunrise since October. The South Pole, though, will be basking in the glow of the midnight sun, which will not set until March.

The seeming death of the light and the very real threat of the hungry mouths of the winter months, who held heavily on early societies, who held varied solstice celebrations and rites meant to return to the Sun and hope for a new life. Scandinavian and Germanic pagans lit fires and may have burned Yule logs as a symbolic means of welcoming back the light. Cattle and other animals were slaughtered around midwinter, followed by feasting on what was the last fresh meat for several months. The Modern Druidic celebration Alban Arthan reveres the death of the Old Sun and the birth of the New Sun.

THE DAY MARKS THE DISCOVERY OF NEW AND STRANGE WORLDS

The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth on December 21, 1620, to find a society that would allow them to worship freely. On the same day in 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium, ushering in an atomic age. And on December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft launched, becoming the first manned moon mission.

THE WORD SOLSTICE TRANSLATES ROUGHLY TO "SUN STANDS STILL."

Solstice derives from the Latin scientific term solstitium, containing sol, which means "sun," and the past participle stem of a sister, meaning "to make stand." This comes from the fact that the sun's position in the sky relative to the horizon at noon, which increases throughout the year and increases in the year, the solstice around the days in a pause to appear. In modern times, we see the phenomenon of the solstice from the position of space, and of the earth relative to the Sun. Before people, however, we're thinking about the sun's trajectory, how long it stayed in the sky and what kind of light it cast.

STONEHENGE IS ALIGNED TO THE SUNSET ON WINTER SOLSTICE.

The primary axis of the megalithic monument is oriented to the setting sun, while Newgrange, another structure built around the same time as Stonehenge, lines up with the winter solstice sunrise. Some have theorized that the position of the sun was of religious significance to the people who built Stonehenge, while other theories hold that the monument is constructed along with the natural features that happen to be aligned. The purpose of Stonehenge is still subject to debate, but its importance on the winter solstice continues in the modern era, as thousands of hippies, pagans, and other types of enthusiasts gathered there every year to celebrate the festival.

ANCIENT ROMANS CELEBRATED REVERSALS AT THE MIDDRIBE FESTIVAL OF SATURNALIA.

The holiday, which started as a festival to honor the god Saturn, was held to commemorate the dedication of his temple in 497 BCE. It quickly became a time of widespread revelry and debauchery in which social roles were overturned, with masters serving their slaves and servants being allowed to insult their masters. Mask-wearing and play-acting were also part of Saturnalia's reversals, with each household electing a King of Misrule. Saturnalia was gradually replaced by Christmas throughout the Roman Empire, but many of its customs survive as Christmas traditions.

SOME TRADITIONS HOLD THAT DARK SPIRITS WALK THE EARTH ON THE WINTER SOLSTICE.

The Iranian festival of Yalda is celebrated on the longest night of the year. In pre-Islamic times, it is the birth of Mithra, the ancient sun god, and his triumph over darkness. Zoroastrian lore holds that the soul and the destructive spirit Ahriman are strongest on this long night. People are encouraged to stay up most of the night in the company of one another, eating, talking, and sharing, poetry, and stories, in order to avoid any brushes with dark entities Beliefs about the presence of evil on the longest night are also echoed in Celtic and Germanic folklore.

SOME THOUGHT THE WORLD WOND ON THE 2012 WINTER SOLSTICE.

December 21, 2012, corresponds to the date 13.0.0.0.0 in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar used by the ancient Mayans, marking the end of a 5126-year cycle. Some people feared this juncture would bring about the end of the world or some other cataclysmic event. Others took a new age-y view (literally) and believed it was a new era of deep transformation for Earth and its residents. In the end, neither of these things appear to happen, leaving the world to turn through winter solstices indefinitely, or at least as long as the sun remains.

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