When is the winter solstice 2022? Date of the shortest day of the year and explanation of its meaning

Winter conditions have hit Britain in recent days with massive snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures.

Daylight hours are also getting shorter as we get closer to the shortest day of the year, which falls just before Christmas.

The winter solstice marks the date when the Earth’s axis rotates to the point where the N Pole is at its maximum tilt with respect to the Sun, resulting in the shortest light period of the year.

Somewhat confusingly, although it is considered the first day of the winter astronomical season, it can also be called the middle of winter, since after that the days begin to lengthen and the countdown to spring begins.

When is the winter solstice 2022?

This year’s winter solstice Wednesday, December 21 (with exact time apparently at 21:47 UK).

According to the Time and Date website, there will be only 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds of daylight on the London Solstice – the sun rises at 8:03 and sets at 15:53.

This number gets even smaller the farther north, so people in Edinburgh only see 6 hours 57 minutes and 37 seconds of daylight, with sunrise at 8:41 am and sunset at 3:39 pm.

The most common date for the solstice is December 21st, although it also falls on December 22nd every few years, as it did in 2019.

This year, the astronomical winter season will last until the beginning of spring on Monday, March 20, 2023, the day of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere.

According to the meteorological definition, which divides the Gregorian year into four seasons of three full months each, winter begins each year on 1 December.

The summer solstice, which falls around June 20 and has become synonymous with Stonehenge and paganism, marks the longest day of the year and the first day of summer in the astronomical calendar.

Spring and autumn begin on the two equinoxes in March and September. These are the two points in the year when the equator is the part of the earth closest to the sun, which theoretically means that the entire world receives 12 hours of daylight.

What is the meaning of the winter solstice?

The winter solstice has been associated with rituals and celebrations since the earliest times of mankind, and some traditions are now associated with the start of Christmas as a celebration of an astronomical phenomenon.

For example, the origins of Christmas trees and wreaths can be found in the 12-day pagan holiday Yule, centered on the solstice.

The festival was celebrated by the early Germanic peoples of Northern Europe, who gathered to celebrate the rebirth of the sun, heralding better times.

The Celtic Druids celebrated the winter solstice by cutting the mistletoe and lighting the “stalk of Joel”, which was believed to drive out darkness and evil spirits.

The Romans had their own similar holiday called Saturnalia (after the god Saturn), which began on December 17 and included a whole week of celebrations and disruption of normal social behavior.

Although many of the traditions of this time were incorporated into Christmas after the rise of Christianity, the shortest day of the year still matters to many.

Thousands of pagans continue to gather at Stonehenge every year, and it is believed that the iconic stones were carefully placed to frame the sunset of the winter solstice.

And in Ireland, an annual lottery is held, during which about 120 people are chosen to visit Newgrange, a huge mound that is 5,000 years old.

A lucky few (the event reportedly receives more than 30,000 entries each year) will witness the sunrise on the winter solstice, which fills the spacious hall with light and illuminates the prehistoric art inside.