Here’s why the winter solstice is significant in cultures across the world

If you’ve already spent hours shoveling snow this year, you might be dismayed to realize that technically, winter hasn’t come yet. According to astronomical definition, the season will officially begin in the northern hemisphere on December 21, 2022: the shortest day of the year, known as the winter solstice.

The weeks leading up to the winter solstice can feel long as the days get shorter and the temperatures drop. But it was also a traditional time of renewal and celebration – it’s no wonder that many cultures celebrate major holidays around this time.

Here are four things to know about the solstice, starting with the fact that it’s celebrated all over the world.

sun trip

First things first: what is the winter solstice?

For starters, this is not the day when the sunrise is last or the earliest to set. Instead, when “the Sun appears lowest in the Northern Hemisphere sky and is at its southernmost point above the Earth,” Books by William TatesAnd the astronomically at Vanderbilt University. “After that, the sun will start creeping north again.”

Meanwhile, December 21, 2022 marks the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The winter solstice will arrive on June 21, 2023, the same day the northern hemisphere celebrates the summer solstice.

“Believe it or not, we are closest to the Sun in January,” Tates added: a reminder that the seasons come from the Earth’s axial tilt at any given time, not from its distance…