Winter Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Photo Credit: Ethan Doyle White.
Festivals + Holidays
The bad news is today is the first day of winter. The good news is, the days have gotten as short as they’re going to get. Tomorrow they will start getting longer and longer – unless, of course, you live north of the Equator.
Today is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
A solstice usually falls on around 21 June or 22 December. It is either the longest or the shortest day of the year – depending on which hemisphere you reside in.
From now on in, the days are going to start getting longer – or shorter – until we reach the Spring Equinox or Autumnal Equinox, after which the process reverses itself until the next solstice is reached.
Many important religious or cultural feasts, festivals, and holidays are celebrated on or near these 4 dates in various societies around the world.