The midwinter, hibernal solstice, hiemal solstice, or winter solstice takes place when the north and south poles have their maximum tilt, far from the sun. It occurs twice annually in the southern and northern hemispheres. The winter solstice takes place during the wintertime of the respective hemisphere. December marks the period when the winter solstice is witnessed and is also the period of the year when the northern hemisphere experiences the least daylight hours. This explains why it is also referred to as the longest night or the shortest day.
It is common knowledge that the earth is tilted on its axis and the sun moves along the arc. During the winter solstice, the arc rises and falls throughout the year as the pole of the earth points either away or towards the sun. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice takes place when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. During this period, the north pole of the earth points further from the sun. This explains why the northern hemisphere is very cold. On the other hand, the southern hemisphere experiences summer since it is the pole that points towards the sun.
The solstice marked a special annual season for most cultures in the Neolithic era. During the time, astronomical events often acted as guide activities such as the sowing of crops, the mating of animals or observing winter reserves. As such, cultural traditions and legends are derived from this. This belief is accounted for by some of the physical remains in layouts that date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age in archaeological sites such as Newgrange, Ireland, and Stonehenge, England. The main axis of both monuments appear to have been carefully placed on a sight-line pointing to the sunrise and sunset of the Winter Solstice. At the time, the Winter Solstice played an important role as the population was economically reliant on observing the progress of the seasons. Famine months of winter which occurred during January-April (northern hemisphere) and July-October (southern hemisphere) were very common. During midwinter, cattle would be slaughtered so that they wouldn’t be fed during the harsh winter conditions, to ensure that people had adequate food reserves to last the entire period. This day was seen as a reverse of the Sun’s retreating presence and notions of birth or rebirth of sun gods, new beginnings and so on. This reversal is also a frequent theme in the tradition of Saturnalia where the masters would serve their servants.
Solstitium is the origin of the word ‘solstice’ since the apparent movement of the path of the sun south or north halts before changing course. During the winter solstice, the sun’s apparent position against the stars at the background reaches the point that is most southerly.
Most meteorologists assert that winter begins on 1st December. The source of confusion seems to emanate from changes in weather and temperature patterns; this suggests that temperatures are at times coldest after the lapse of the shortest day.
Winter solstice is a celebrated event across the world, and in the Julian calendar, this event was observed on December 25th. Later on, after the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the event was shifted to December 21st. Nonetheless, this date varies from time to time and can fall anywhere between December 20th and 23rd. The tropical year explains the variance since the time the sun takes to come back to the same spot varies from year to year. When the South Pole faces the opposite side of the sun, people living in the southern hemisphere experience more darkness since the days become much shorter than the nights. In the northern hemisphere, people will experience shorter nights and longer days since the North Pole faces the sun.
Solstice is a consequence of the tilt of a planet. This means that planets that don’t spin and are tidally locked lack solstices. In the solar system, all planets rotate on their axis though with a different tilt to the sun’s orbit. However, each planet has a different tilt. For instance, Uranus is tilted at 98 degrees while Mercury is tilted at 2.11 degrees. In the past, solstices terrified people since they feared that the days would be shorter and eventually daylight would vanish. The winter solstice takes place at a specific time and day when the distance of the sun from the North Pole is longest and tilted at 23.5 degrees from the axis of the earth. In ancient times, skywatchers lacked understanding of the migration of the sun; they feared that the sun might crumble someday and forge further southward and disappear forever. From this inference, it is clear that the lowering of the sun caused wonder and fear. Solstice refers to the apparent motion of the sun over the earth’s latitudes. At this juncture, the sun halts its movement towards the north and starts moving towards the south. It is at the winter solstice that it moves northward. From a technical point of view, the sun begins from the north and turns around. At the vernal equinox, the sun crosses the equator and on 20th March at 7:02 am EDT it crosses into the northern hemisphere.
In the past, when the sun slowly ascended or stopped during midday, people were filled with joy since they knew that spring was close. Why is the night during winter clear? This has been attributed to the fact that warm air holds more moisture than cold air. During summer nights, the atmosphere is usually laden with moisture that tends to make the sky hazier. During winter, the washed-out blue and milky clouds turn into a darker, deeper, and richer shade of blue. In fact, the brilliant constellations and stars brighten the skies, such as Taurus, Capella, Orion, and Sirius, and many others. All these are like holiday decorations for nature since they enlighten winter’s long cold nights and winter solstice. Below is a list of countries that celebrate this natural event:
Indian
In India, Makara Sankranti or Maghi is a Hindu festival held in January that honours the deity Surya. This festival marks the first day of the sun’s passage into Makara (Capricorn), which marks the conclusion of the winter months and the beginning of longer days.
Iranian
In Iran, Yalda night is observed in commemoration of the longest and darkest night of the Northern Hemisphere.
Pagan
Germanic people and pagan Scandinavian people located in northern Europe observe a 12-day midwinter event referred to as Yule. Many of the traditions observed during Christmas originated from this holiday, such as the Christmas tree, wreath, logs and so on.
East Asia
In East Asia, midwinter has been observed as one of the twenty-four solar terms referred to as Dongzhi in Chinese. In Japan, a common tradition involves soaking oneself in a yuzu hot bath to avoid getting a cold.
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