The Winter Solstice December 22

The Winter solstice occurs each year on 22 December, and is caused by the tilt of the earth’s axis of rotation.

December 22 is the shortest day of the year for people in the northern hemisphere, and the longest for those in the south.

The winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the tropic of Capricorn, about 23.5 degrees south of the equator.

A solstice occurs twice each year, once during summer, and once during winter.

Solstice comes from the latin words sol (meaning sun) and sitere (to stand still). Simply put, this is because at the time of the solstice, the sun shows very little movement to the north or the south.

The December solstice coincides with a number of religious festivals.

In ancient Rome, Saturnalia began as a feast day for Saturn and was celebrated for a week from December 17 – 23.

Christmas is celebrated by Christians on December 25. celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

During December, Jews celebrate the festival of Hanukkah, or the festival of Lights.