Winter Solstice – When a good night’s sleep is easy on the longest night in 365 days.

In so many and such important ways, then, do the planets bear witness to the earth’s mobility.

Nicolaus Copernicus

And while the earth moves, the sun comes to a standstill on this day. “Solstitium”, Latin for, “the sun stands still”, is the origin of the word “solstice”, referring to the apparent pause in the sun’s journey before it changes direction. And so, on December 21^st/22^nd 2023, we are at the winter solstice. Popularly known as “the shortest day of the year”. On December 22^nd, Earth’s axis will be furthest from the sun, indicating that compared to the summer solstice, the winter solstice’s day is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter.

Hold on! There’s a summer solstice as well? Oh yes! And two equinoxes that happen directly between the solstices and mark the beginning of the Spring and Fall seasons. Just like solstice, the term equinox is a Latin gift, where aequus means “Equal” and nox means “Night.” So, it follows that an equinox, gives us an “Equal Night”, where the day time is pretty much the same as the night time.

While the solstices happen in June and December, the equinoxes grace us in March and September. If you are relating this to the changing seasons, well done! According to science, four special days each year, two solstices (one in June and one in December), and two equinoxes (one in March and one in September) mark the changing seasons on our beloved planet.

Coming back to the hero of our story, astronomically, the winter solstice heralds the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In the north, it’s the shortest day and the longest night of the year while in the south it’s the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Winter Solstice became significant, probably due to the fact that it marked the lengthening of days and gained repute as a time for new beginnings and rebirth.

While the solstices and equinoxes tell us the story of how the Earth spins, over the years, many stories have been spun around this phenomenon. Science has educated us about the astronomical relevance of solstices and equinoxes, and their effect on our planet, but back in the day this phenomenon was treated with much awe, reverence, and intrigue, resulting in many a folklore, tales, rituals, and festivals. One of the most popular ones is the Christmas holiday, celebrated just a few days after the December/Winter Solstice.

The birth of Jesus Christ was not always celebrated around the Winter Solstice. In 336 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine, adopted December 25^th as the day for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Experts suggest that the emperor did this to overshadow the pagan celebrations that had come to be associated with the Winter Solstice. It took another 500 years for the Eastern Empire to accept Christmas, and it didn’t become a major Christian festival until the 9th Century.

Certain Christmas traditions are reminiscent of the overshadowed pagan traditions, like the Christmas tradition of Yule Logs. Prior to Christmas, the Feast of Juul, was observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December solstice. Fires would be lit to symbolise the heat and light of the returning Sun and a Yule log was gathered and burnt in the hearth as a tribute to the Norse god Thor.

According to Britannica, the Jewish festival of Hanukkah that begins on Kislev 25, usually falling in December, and lasts for eight days, might also find its roots in the old Winter Solstice celebrations.

Back in the day, the solar system was a mystery uncovered, and Winter Solstice celebrations marked ritual celebrations of the death and rebirth or even the theft and return of the sun. One interesting tale is from Finland. Finnish folklore talks of a powerful and evil witch, Louhi, who ruled over the mythical northern realm of Pohjola. In the myth, Louhi steals the sun and the moon away, holding them captive inside a mountain, causing the waning daylight leading up to the Winter Solstice.

Though science has given us a lot of answers, along with the terms “solstice” and “equinox”, and we know that the sun remains very much where it is while we circle around it all the time, some traditions stemming from the unknown remain.

In a world of diminishing mystery, the unknown persists

Jhumpa Lahiri