Although the winter solstice marks the shortest daylight period in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s not the day of the latest sunrise or earliest sunset. This year the solstice occurs on Tuesday December 22 at 04.49 GMT with the sun rising over Stonehenge in Wiltshire at 08.04.
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It feels like the days can’t get any shorter – and it’s true. It marks the longest day of the year.
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In the Southern Hemisphere, the December solstice is opposite.
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The result for us is that the Sun will appear over time to reach a lower point in the sky at midday as its path across the sky becomes shorter and lower.
The Druids used evergreen trees to symbolise everlasting life during the winter solstice.
Start Christmas day with the planets and you can also end it the same way as Jupiter is now an evening object and rises brightly, just before 23:00.
If it feels like winter has already begun, you are correct. It’s because the Sun’s direct rays are shining in the Southern Hemisphere that is colder here in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, on the Tropic of Cancer, that is the Summer Solstice, usually June 21.
So while it is Winter solstice here in Canada, Australia is having it’s Summer Solstice.
Though we picture the Three Wise Men visiting the baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem in the dead of winter, that’s just a popular interpretation.
And by the way, Arizona and Hawaii remain on standard time, not daylight time, year-round. The Kalash Kaafir celebrate a festival named Chaomos on the day of December Solstice.
The date of the solstice can vary because of our calendar system. It may be part of the reason Christmas is celebrated when it is.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sun rose at 7:48 a.m.in Toronto on Monday and will set at 4:43 p.m. That will give the city eight hours and 55 minutes of daylight. In Nome, Alaska, sunrise comes at noon, and then there’s four hours of light until sunset.
“With its similar theme and the popularity and widespread nature of the winter solstice holiday, it’s not surprising that this time of year and some of its associated celebrations were adopted and naturalized by Christians”, said Hammergren.
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Many scientists believe that the paucity of sunlight during the winter months makes your brain deplete its stores of serotonin by requiring the pineal gland to convert it into melatonin, which makes you sleepy.
