Winter solstice

2022 - 12 - 22

Winter solstice 2022: Shortest day of the year is long on pagan rituals (CNN)

Winter solstice 2022, the shortest day of year and the official first day of winter, is on Wednesday, December 21 for North America and much of Europe and ...

[Dongzhi marks the return yang](http://www.lifeqimedicine.com/dongzhi-festival-winter-solstice-and-the-return-of-yang/) -- and the slow ascendance of light and warmth. Part of Druidic traditions, the winter solstice is considered a time of death and rebirth. In December, we're getting into the holiday spirit and celebrating the festive season. On the winter solstice, visitors traditionally enter the towering, mysterious stone circle for a sunrise ceremony run by local pagan and druid groups. The Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival has its roots in ancient Chinese culture. The people enjoyed carnival-like festivities resembling [modern Mardi Gras celebrations](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturnalia-Roman-festival) and even delayed their war-making. The summer solstice is when the sun's rays are farthest north over the Tropic of Cancer, giving us our longest day and the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The situation is the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere, where only about 10% of the world's population lives. Below are some examples of when 21:48 UTC will be for various local times in places around the world. Residents of [Nome, Alaska](https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/usa/nome), will be even more sunlight deprived with just three hours and 54 minutes and 31 seconds of very weak daylight. The solstice usually -- but not always -- takes place on December 21. Then we'll explore some ancient traditions and celebrations around the world.

Winter solstice 2022 brings the longest night of the year to Northern ... (Space.com)

The winter solstice is today (Dec. 21), marking the official start of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day of the year.

[According to History.com](https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/saturnalia) (opens in new tab), the winter solstice fell on Dec. [summer solstices](https://www.space.com/summer-solstice-when-what) occur because [Earth](https://www.space.com/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html) is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis, and the moment of each solstice occurs when the axis is tilted in the direction of the sun. 25 on the Julian calendar, which was used by the Ancient Romans; today we use the Gregorian calendar, which has the winter solstice fall on either Dec. [according to Farmer's Almanac](https://www.farmersalmanac.com/winter-solstice-first-day-winter) (opens in new tab). Midwinter festivals have long been celebrated on the winter solstice each year by current and ancient cultures. In the Southern Hemisphere, however, it will be the longest day of 2022.

Winter solstice 2022: Longer days are ahead (al.com)

Here is the sun-facing side of Earth during the December 2018 solstice (left) and June 2019 solstice (right). The Southern Hemisphere is tilted to receive more ...

Today’s winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night for the Northern Hemisphere, while the opposite is happening south of the equator. The December or winter solstice usually happens on Dec. For those north of the equator the summer solstice happens on June 20 or 21.

Winter Solstice: Batteries to power UK homes as energy demand ... (edie.net)

Wednesday (21 December) marks the shortest day of the year in the UK and many other nations, meaning that electricity demand is likely to increase as people ...

The UK Government’s climate advisory body, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has recommended that measures are taken to grow the energy storage stock to 18GW by 2035 if the 2050 net-zero goal is to be met and interim carbon budgets adhered to. The calculation stems from the fact that the UK’s operational battery storage capacity is 2.1GWh and that the average home uses 0.3kWh for an hour. Opponents of renewable energy often point out that generation is intermittent, varying in line with weather conditions. However, the organisation has concluded that the UK’s battery stock could technically power 25% of the UK’s homes for a full hour of darkness. As well as the day being shorter, light intensity is low in many parts of the UK due to cloudy weather. There is also no benefit of snow to act as a light reflector in regions including the southeast, with the recent cold snap having ended for many.

Ways to celebrate winter solstice in Anchorage (Alaska Public Media News)

It's the darkest day of the year. Each day ahead, until summer solstice, will get a little bit longer.

“And that’s as short as your shadow gets on the solstice.” Locally made treats on hand will include Elevated Oats granola and Chugach Chocolates hot cocoa. Admission is free, but you’ll have to buy a “So it really is an important marker for people in Alaska to note when that daylight turnaround occurs.” Brettschneider estimated light increasing by five to six minutes a day in Anchorage, and seven to eight minutes a day in Fairbanks. Food truck goodies will also be available for purchase. Plus, there may be early sightings of Santa Claus. [Hilltop Ski Area Winter Solstice Celebration](https://www.hilltopskiarea.org/event/winter-solstice-celebration/) The solstice is set to occur at 12:47 p.m. It’s the moment when the North Pole is tilted “So effectively, we have less sunlight than that.” For Alaskans, winter solstice also means rapidly increasing amounts of daylight with each day forward until the summer solstice.

Here's why the winter solstice is significant in cultures across the world (PBS NewsHour)

The dead of winter, when the longest night of the year takes place, has traditionally been celebrated as a time of renewal and reverence.

[wrote Mahdavi](https://theconversation.com/a-persian-festival-yalda-celebrates-the-triumph-of-light-over-darkness-with-pomegranates-poetry-and-sacred-rituals-173969), who is now provost at the University of Montana. [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com) under a Creative Commons license. In this worship space and many others that Catholic missionaries built during the Spanish colonial period, the winter solstice “triggers an extraordinary rare and fascinating event,” [he explained](https://theconversation.com/a-sacred-light-in-the-darkness-winter-solstice-illuminations-at-spanish-missions-70250): “a sunbeam enters each of these churches and bathes an important religious object, altar, crucifix or saint’s statue in brilliant light.” “Ancient Persians believed that evil forces were strongest on the longest and darkest night of the year,” These missions were built to convert Native Americans to Catholicism – people whose cultures had already, for thousands of years, celebrated the solstice sun’s seeming victory over darkness. Rather, it’s when “the sun appears the lowest in the Northern Hemisphere sky and is at its farthest southern point over Earth,” Its winter solstice will arrive June 21, 2023, the same day the Northern Hemisphere celebrates its summer solstice. “These events offer us insights into archaeology, cosmology and Spanish colonial history,” Mendoza wrote. But it’s also traditionally been a time of renewal and celebration – little wonder that so many cultures mark major holidays just around this time. Many Native American communities have long held solstice ceremonies, If you’ve already spend hours shoveling snow this year, you may be dismayed to realize that technically, it’s not yet winter. 21, 2022](https://aa.usno.navy.mil/calculated/seasons?year=2022&tz=5&tz_sign=-1&tz_label=false&dst=false&submit=Get+Data): the shortest day of the year, known as the winter solstice.

Winter Solstice today, longer days start tomorrow (ABC10.com KXTV)

CALIFORNIA, USA — The first official day of winter is Wednesday starting at 1:48 p.m. Pacific Time, but winter weather has already descended on Northern ...

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