What is winter solstice?

What is the winter solstice?

Solstices happen twice a year, in June and December, as an official mark of the change in seasons. The winter solstice marks the day when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, a line that is located at 23.5 degrees south of the equator and runs through countries like Chile and Australia, and is furthest away from the sun. The distance brings colder temperatures and less light.

On the day of this astronomical event, the sun is at its lowest elevation and stands in a position that does not vary for several days. That’s the reason for the term solstice, which combines the Latin words sol, for sun, with stit, from the word sistere—which means to stand still. The word solstice’s first known use was in the 14th century, per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

This year the solstice falls on Dec. 21 for the U.S. and Dec. 22 in Europe, marking the (astronomical) beginning of winter, although there are also meteorological seasons that mark winter as starting in early December through February.

What traditions are celebrated across the world?

Ancient civilizations have long been fascinated by the movement of the sun, allowing cultures like that of the Maya to accurately track its movement and create complex and precise calendars. Others showed their interest by constructing monuments like Stonehenge in England and the Torreon in Peru as a way to track the sun’s annual progress.

Some of those centuries-old traditions remain today, as thousands of people travel to Stonehenge, which was built to align with the sun during the solstices, to watch the sunrise. The event is also live streamed on the English Heritage site.

Austrians celebrate the winter solstice by traveling to Hollabrunn to watch people dressed as Krampus—a half-demon, half-goat that punishes children who behave badly during the Christmas season—playfully hit and terrorize onlookers.