It’s the winter solstice here in the northern hemisphere (and my birthday)! I’m going to share some neat science about the shortest day of the year. It’s long been celebrated as sacred, all over the world.
Stone Age Europeans built giant megaliths to track the calendar year. It’s thought they held celebrations on solstices, equinoxes, and other astronomically important days. Some structures were built to become illuminated by the winter solstice sun: nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-an…
The Maya also track the sun, marking time and the seasons, but also the activities of the sun god—the sun links science, history, and religion. Ancient Mayan cities across the Yucatán have buildings with special alignments to the sun on solstices and equinoxes.
Solstice rituals show up everywhere, in ancient and modern cultures, from the Dongzhin(“extreme winter”) festival in East Asia to the Zuni harvest festival of Shalako. Some focus on eating cozy foods, and others light candles during the longest night.
Many Christmas traditions have their roots in the ancient pagan celebrations of the winter solstice (including the date!). Candles in windows, lights on a tree, the Yule log, some sort of roast beast, carols, etc.
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. But why do the day lengths change at all? Earth’s tilt! It’s the “reason for the seasons.” As our planet revolves each year, the North Pole points towards, then away from, the sun. scientificamerican.com/article/dec-21…
Vox did a nice explainer about the winter solstice—from solstices on other planets, to why it’s not the coldest day of the year: vox.com/science-and-he…
The Ursid meteor shower happens around the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, but this year’s full moon means you’ll have the best visibility in the pre-dawn darkness. earthsky.org/astronomy-esse…
The length of your “shortest day” will vary by latitude. Here in Maine, the sun rose at 7:10 am, and will set at 3:57 pm. Further north in Anchorage, the sun will rise at 10:14 am and set at 3:41 pm. In Utqiaġvik, north of the Arctic Circle, they won’t see the sun at all.
For some, the solstice is a time of rebirth, welcoming back the light as the days get longer. For others, it’s the beginning of a time of rest and reflection—a colder (if brighter) season when snow blankets the ground and nature seems to sleep.
Wherever you are, I hope you can take a moment today to step away from the noise, hustle, and strife. Build a fire. Light a candle. Sit in darkness. Drink something warm and good. Rest, repair, dream, plan. On this shortest day, we keep the light. Happy solstice to you and yours.
Also, happy summer solstice to my Southern Hemisphere tweeps!
