What is the winter solstice? What does it mean behind the shortest day of the year and when it falls in 2022

Christmas is coming, but there’s another major milestone ahead of it this week: the shortest day of the year.

This date, known as the winter solstice, is associated with the pagan celebrations at Stonehenge, which are believed to have inspired our modern day celebrations.

Here’s everything you need to know about Winterfest 2022 and its traditions.

What is the winter solstice?

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.

Although it is considered the first day of the winter astronomical season, it is also called the middle of winter because the days after it begin to lengthen and the countdown to spring begins.

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.

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

When is the shortest day in 2022?

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

This is the most common date, although it also falls on December 22 every few years, just like in 2019.

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 astronomical winter season lasts until the beginning of spring on Monday, March 20, 2023, the date of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere.

What happens on 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 (in honor of the god Saturn), which began on December 17 and lasted a whole week, subverting ordinary 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.