Posted by Jason on: 12.21.2008 /
Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands) and is used to mark both the shortest day of the year and the longest day because the sun rises and sets in the same place, it appears to stand still in the sky. Hence Sol Sistit.
In the Northern Hemisphere we see the winter solstice but in the Southern Hemisphere it is the Summer Solstice. That is when the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. Or rather when our axial tilt (23.5 degrees towards the plane of its rotation) aligns the surface of our planet with the sun. All these cosmological reference points are pretty arbitrary when you think about it.
The regularity of the seasons and key dates in the calendar are explained quite well by referring the the off centre tilt of the globe as it spins through space. The flat earthers don’t like it much but we’re lucky that there don’t seem to be many of those around any more. Even Ibn Baz says that the Earth is a sphere.
Clearly those people who mark the position of the sun, it’s rising and setting will note the longest and shortest days. Some will place significance on it of religious proportions. The Winter Solstice is traditionally a time of hope and feasting. Winter food reserves are being used and the remaining fresh food has to be finished before it spoils. Why not celebrate the shortest day with a feast and get rid of those supplies that have to go anyway.
Cultures the world over place significance on this date as a moment of rebirth and hope. There are many rituals to mark the day with circles or concentric spirals being prominent. It helps us to pass through the longest night and emerge to the new dawn as the days grow longer. It prepares us for the coming of spring, of new life in our world. People have built monuments to this day all over the world. I’ve visited Stonehenge and have wondered at the efforts involved to transport these giant stones and place them in position. True they mark the divisions of the year but what other significance must they have had for these ancient people?
Enjoy your Winter Solstice.
Comment by: Pseudonym
1I will, in six months’ time. Thanks for the advance good wishes!
Comment by: Jason
2You’re in the Southern Hemisphere? In that case enjoy your Summer Solstice.
Comment by: Mike O
3The royal order of the 21sters is a small (but growing!) band of rebels who have shunned the normal definitions of the seasons in favor of a longer summer and autumn. We define the Winter Solstice/shortest day/December 21st as the last day of winter. Because the days begin getting longer on December 22nd, this is seen as an encouraging sign and the first step towards summer, thus, the 1st day of spring!
Likewise, Summer ends on the Summer Solstice/longest day of the year/June 21st, and the next day - June 22nd is seen as the first step down that long, beautiful autumnal path towards winter.
Also, this definition makes for a very warm 1st half of autumn (July and August)!
Winter is a bleak affair, so it is minimized. It’s limits have been set to the darkest days from November through December 21st only!
And Spring is a short, but encouraging stretch leading into to another long, lingering summer!
We freely admit that this is nothing more than psychological trickery to carry us through the coldest days of what others call “winter” but we don’t care - it works for us.
For all others, winter has just begun. For us, it has just ended! Welcome, Spring, for your short, but encouraging reign!
Hooba, Hooba, Gunga, Gunga a Dunga.