Why winter solstice matters around the world: 4 essential reads

Molly JacksonAnd the Conversation

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 start 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 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 at The Conversation, we’ve rounded up four of our favorite solstice stories: from what it really is to how it’s celebrated around the world.

1. The Journey of the Sun

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 at its lowest point 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 begin to crawl north again.”

And he added, “Believe it or not, we are closest to the sun in January”: a reminder that the seasons come from the axial tilt of the Earth at any given time, not from …