Winter Solstice 2021: Tuesday, December 21 is a day of great events, as it marks the winter solstice. The December solstice, also known as the Himalaya solstice or the hibernal solstice, occurs when one of the Earth’s poles is tilted away from the Sun at its maximum. Apparently, this causes the shortest period of daylight as it is further away from the Sun, with the longest night of the year. This day is celebrated every year on 21st or 22nd December mostly in countries observing winter season like UK, USA, India, Russia, China and Canada.
The exact moment of the winter solstice – when the Earth’s North Pole is directly away from the Sun, and the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, at about 23.4 degrees South – occurs at 09:28 PM IST. According to the Drikpanchang, the winter solstice sunrise will be at 7:10 am and sunset at 5:29 pm.
As we celebrate the winter solstice on December 21st, here’s a look at some facts you should know:
The winter solstice is popularly said to mark the ‘birth of the Sun’, because for the hemisphere further away from the star, the days begin to lengthen after today, while the nights will begin to shorten.
For the December solstice, it is the Northern Hemisphere that is farthest from the Sun, while it marks the beginning of astronomical summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
The word ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin scientific word ‘solstitium’. While ‘sol’ stands for the sun, the past participle of ‘sister’ means “to stand.” Hence, the loose translation of Sankranti means ‘the sun stands still’.
Since time immemorial, there are various traditions and rituals associated with this day. In Iran, people celebrate the festival of Yalda, while it marks the birth of the ancient sun god Mithra in pre-Islamic times.
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