12 fascinating facts about the winter solstice

As a general rule, for many years now, I've typically tried to post early in the day, but this week (and whole month!) has been so off-the-charts busy, that I've scarcely had time to stop and catch my breath, let alone pen blog posts! Thus, in the relaxed spirit of the holiday season, I figured it was better to write one this afternoon and ensure an entry went up this weekend than to (unintentionally) bypass it entirely.

I won't lie, I'm presently overworked and a fair bit stressed (in part because I know that I'll soon have to throw myself into several days of doing taxes, as mentioned in this post last week) and my mind is a swirling vortex of thoughts, things to remember and deadlines to try and meet. Yet, despite all that, I am still in happy, festive spirits and one such reason is certainly that the winter solstice - the very shortest day of the year - is almost upon us again.

This year, the winter solstice falls on December 22nd and marks the day with the least amount of sunlight time in the entire calendar (as it’s when the earth's semi-axis is most tilted away from the sun). Historically, much like it's warm weather (in the Northern Hemisphere) counterpoint, the summer solstice, this day was an integral point in the lives of those in most cultures and early belief systems/faiths.

As we've become more industrialized, weaving manmade light and heat into our homes and daily lives, no longer (in many parts of the world) having a society that is as heavily dependent on the health and cycles of agriculture to survive, and keeping winter's icy wrath at bay by way of everything from polar fleece to heated vehicles, the winter solstice does not necessarily hold a key place in the calendars of a lot of folks any more.

To some though, including many who follow earth/Pagan based spiritual paths, it still does, and most of us at least enjoy making note of the fact that we've reached the shortest, darkest day (and therefore longest night) of the year. The magnificent, warming rays of spring's return may still be eons away, but at least we know that from this point forward, the days will gradually grow brighter again and that, in a few month's time, we'll have pulled through another long, formidable winter once more.

Whether you celebrate December's solstice in any myriad of ways, rarely think about it, or fall somewhere in between, as lovers of history and facts, most of welcome the chance to learn more about any day of the year, especially one as traditionally poignant and important ad the winter solstice itself.

With that in mind, I thought it would be a lot of fun to share twelve interesting, informative, and wonderfully fun facts about the winter solstice with all of you. This is not exhaustive list by any means and I certainly welcome you to share more that you may know in the comments below. Happy reading and winter solstice celebrating alike!


1. While in the Northern Hemisphere, we will be experiencing the shortest day and longest night of the year, the opposite is true for our friends south of the equator, where the very same date marks their longest day and shortest night.


2. Though many meanings and points of significance have been attached to the winter solstice throughout the course of time, one particular theme that has rung true for those of various cultures include seeing it as a time of rebirth, as autumn ends, winter begins, and we gear up for the (relatively modern day placement of) New Year. Celebrations, feasts, rituals, candle lighting, the giving of thanks and the saying of prayers have all been traditional ways to mark this important date throughout human history.


3. The name "solstice" itself stems from the Latin word solstitium, which roughly translates as "sun stands still", denoting the fact that at the time of the solstice (and for a few days on either side of it), the sun has the appearance of standing still in its position in the heavens.


4. Winter solstice has been called many things over the years, some of which remain with us to this day. These alternative names include Midwinter, the Longest Night, and Yule.


5. Technically, from an astronomical perspective, the winter solstice isn't a full day, but rather a specific, variable, point in the day that occurs annual each year on either the 21st or 22nd of December (it will fall on the 22nd again next come 2019), when the sun is shining down directly atop the Tropic of Capricorn.


6. Solstices and equinoxes are not the same thing. Though both take place twice every year, the spring and autumn equinoxes mark when the sun is directly above the equator, thus making the day and night equal in the length, whereas with the solstices, the night or day is at its longest or shortest point of the year.


7. While many of us consider this date to be the start of winter, most meteorologists actually view December 1st as the start of winter and March 1st and the beginning of spring. Though as anyone in a chilly climate can tell you, winter is rarely that brief or perfectly timed, beginning as early as late September/early October for some and reaching into April or even May in some parts of the world.


8. Over the course of history, many holidays, feast days and other important events have been (and still are, in some instances) held on the winter solstice, some of which have leant traditions to our modern (common era) Christmas festivities. These include, but are not limited to, Brumalia in ancient Rome, the Theravada Buddhism event of Sanghamitta Day, the Dongzhi Festival in Asia, Yaldā in Iran, Yule in various (traditionally European) cultures, and Blue Christmas - a day that honours the year's departed - in certain Western Christian traditions.


9. Though technically the darkest day in terms of the number of hours of sunset available, the winter solstice is rarely the coldest day we experience each year. That generally happens in January of February in most places north of the equator, though of course is variable and apt to differ at least slightly from one year to the next.


10. To this day, various sacred sites around the world, very much including Stonehenge in the UK, are used as points of public celebration and reverence for those who wish to honour the sanctity and importance of the winter solstice/Yule.


11. Though the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in terms of the amount of sunlight that we experience on it, it does not, interestingly, usually have the earliest sunset. That generally occurs anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks beforehand, with the latest sunrise often taking place in January.


12. Generally speaking (as touched on in point #5 above) the winter solstice lands on December 21st or 22nd, however it can technically, very rarely, occur on the 20th or 23rd as well. The last time the solstice fell on the 23rd was 1903 and the next will be 2303. Due to this uncommon occurrence, at  this point in time, extremely few people still alive on earth today can say that they've experienced a December 23rd winter solstice.



{A time of celebration and contemplation for the year ahead alike, the winter solstice is a wonderful event that heralds the return of gradually longer days and which reminds us how deeply tied to the earth and the rhythms of the universe we still are, even in today's high tech world. Decembre by Swiss artist Eugène Grasset.}

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In many ways, I think that now is a good time - if such a thing exists – to be as busy as I am and to feel a bit stressed. Both things will pass, I know, and I can help usher them along with the return of slightly more light filled days, which - to my mind at least - naturally represent the brightness of possibility and the positives that will come from everything that is currently underway in my world this month.

Both the winter and the summer solstice hold very special places in my heart and I always make a point to celebrate them, giving thanks for the blessings that have come my way over the last half of the year, honouring the season that we're enjoying right now, and reflecting on how very important this day was to our forefathers and mothers for countless generations.

Yes, we may have central heating, indoor lighting, and puffy down filled winter jackets, but nature is still nature, the universe is still the universe, and there is an ingrained sense of wonder and humbleness to the solstices. They remind of how life used to be, that certain things such as the earth's celestial path will always be the same, and that even something as potentially bleak as the prospect of winter has hidden beauty and cause for celebration.

No matter how technologically advanced our society becomes, that it is something worth honouring each year in the third and final chapter of December.