Winter Solstice 2011: Shortest Day Of The Year Marks Start Of Winter (PHOTOS)

The winter season will officially begin in the northern hemisphere on Dec. 22 with the annual celestial event known as the winter solstice. The southern hemisphere, on the other hand, will kick off the start of summer at the same time.

In addition to being the shortest day of the year, the annual winter solstice also marks the start of a long progression towards summer, with days becoming increasingly longer until the summer solstice in June.

According to TimeAndDate.com, the December solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted exactly 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This will happen at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.

At the winter solstice, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. Anyone situated near the South Pole or below 66.5 degrees south latitude will experience 24 hours of daylight, while those near the North Pole will be shrouded in perpetual darkness.

Compared to last year's solstice and the coming 2012 solstice, this year's event will be relatively uneventful. That's because the 2010 winter solstice coincided with a total lunar eclipse, and the 2012 solstice, on Dec. 21, intersects with the end of the Mayan calendar, a time which some speculate will be the end of the world.

Though, on top of generally widespread skepticism of the 2012 doomsday theory, Discovery News points out that the mathematical calculations behind the prophecy may be flawed.

Nevertheless, the winter solstice has long played an important role in world religions. According to Chiff.com, ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Saturnalia in the days surrounding the December solstice and the while the Feast of Juul was observed in pre-Christian Scandinavia.

Photo by Flickr user Bernt Rostad.

Check out the images below from past solstices:

Comments

[Lady Saera]

09:22 PM on 01/03/2012

It's all beautiful.

[HexonT3]

07:26 PM on 12/21/2011

Dance Pagans and celebrate the return of life!

[bclark59]

08:50 PM on 12/22/2011

happy/merry Yule!!! enjoy the return of the sun :)

[Forester]

05:41 PM on 12/21/2011

This is nothing a nice Cabernet won't fix.

[Atim-moot Tugayak]

10:45 AM on 12/21/2011

You know when we know its winter? Animals are fat, leaves and grass is dead, snow on ground and ice on lake and lastly, no birds like ducks and geese around cuz its too freakin cold outside.

[ChePee]

08:32 PM on 12/20/2011

They mention ancient Romans celebrating Saturnalia around this time, but failed to mention how Christmas and Hannukah are celebrated this time as well - and the correlation between them and the solstice.

[dakotawoman]

01:16 PM on 12/21/2011

And that the Catholic Church decided to celebrate Christ's birth (which would NOT have been in December if the Biblical timeline is interpreted a certain way) around the solstice to replace the worship of Sol Invictus (the Sun God) whose birth was celebrated on Dec. 25 and also shared many of the same traits and events attributed to Jesus Christ.

[ontariogirl]

04:50 PM on 12/20/2011

Now the days will start getting longer. The lack of sunlight is hard to take some days. One day at a time. The problem with winter lately is it doesn't stay consistently cold long enough to have a skating rink anymore and the snow comes and goes. OH well if that is the least of my worries I'm doing pretty good.

[yeti7]

04:41 PM on 12/20/2011

So begins our last year here.

[frant52]

12:03 PM on 12/20/2011

I love the solstice, it means that we can start the countdown to spring, one minute a day, but it's still a countdown!

[dresdengirl]

10:16 AM on 12/21/2011

Same here. looking forward to this every winter.

[Black Feathers]

09:14 AM on 12/20/2011

Erm, winter does not START on the winter solstice, the winter solstice is the middle of winter. The solstices are at the middle of their respective seasons, and the seasons actually change on the cross-quarter days, so that's after Halloween for people in the Northern Hemisphere, and after May Day for those in the south, excluding people who live in rainy season/dry season places and other places that don't have the cycle of four seasons.

[yeti7]

06:34 PM on 12/20/2011

erm back but that is wrong
n the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the winter season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest south (on December 21st or 22nd). This day is known as the Winter Solstice.
Look it up if you don't believe me.

[Black Feathers]

07:57 PM on 12/20/2011

Yep, you're right, in the US winter starts on midwinter. Wiki: "In astronomical reckoning, the solstices and equinoxes ought to be the middle of the respective seasons, but, because of thermal lag, regions with a continental climate often consider these four dates to be the start of the seasons" I don't live in the United States, and in places that don't have a continental climate (like Scotland), winter does not start on midwinter's day because we get less of a lag in terms of meteorological change. I didn't realise it was different in the States. I guess, that must be weird for people who live anywhere where snow starts coming early November! If you're a meteorologist rather than an astronomer, then the seasons begin on 1st March for Spring, Summer on 1st June, Autumn on 1st September, and Winter begins on on 1st December, just to be more confusing.

[StrawHat]

05:20 AM on 12/20/2011

In the Pacific Northwest, we celebrate Winter Solstice as the "Return of the Light".

Finally, finally, finally the enveloping darkness will start abating. Yay!!!

[Skagitonian93]

03:01 PM on 12/20/2011

Indeed! We have a major celebration every year, house full of lights, great food, and flying lanterns. Such a relief to know we're heading back into the light! PNW is a beautiful place to live in the summer....winter not so much.

[jenkait]

03:43 AM on 12/20/2011

The start of winter...BUT we can also start the countdown to longer days! I always think of it that way :)

[Caroleeena]

05:04 AM on 12/20/2011

Me too! Even though the last half of winter is always the hardest on me, it helps to see the sun coming back more and more each day.

(And I agree! Elizabeth Warren for president!)

[jenkait]

05:34 AM on 12/20/2011

LOL, I prefer the fall months to Jan/Feb as well...October is my favorite month...but I guess it's a trade off...at least in Jan. you can tell yourself it's getting lighter, it's *hope*, right?! I like Groundhog Day since it's sort of a marker for me that winter is coming to an end... What makes winter hard for you? I just don't like it when it's cold and I think the trees are ugly without leaves...that's all :)

Yay, another Elizabeth Warren fan! ;) fanned back!

[Lora Gunning]

02:55 AM on 12/20/2011

The ancient way to celebrate the winter solstice was to stay up all night, through the longest night of the year, and watch the sun rise. Winter solstice used to be the end of the old year and the beginning of the new...nights will be shorter and days longer from Solstice forward. Embrace your pagan roots and celebrate Solstice...stay up all night, light a bonfire (if you can do so legally) and watch the sun rise, and celebrate the new (solar) year.

[jenkait]

03:48 AM on 12/20/2011

Cool post, thanks for the info! I didn't know people did that... LOL, don't think I could start a bonfire on my little porch at my apartment though, too bad ;) I did stayed up all night for midsommar when I was in Sweden...only about 2.5h of dusk, then the sun rose again...awesome.

[StrawHat]

05:39 AM on 12/20/2011

Other ways to celebrate the winter solstice:

Gather with friends and bring something you've been holding on to and are ready to relinquish -- tell the group why you've been clinging to it, why you're ready to let it go, and put it aside for someone else to take -- the host can take left-overs to a charity thrift store and donate. If it's something very personal (e.g. old love letters or a picture of you with your ex) you can burn it or shred it. It can also be symbolic: a photo of ballet slippers and your acceptance that you'll never be a ballerina. Recite an incantation: "I release you into this mid-winter night. Go in peace. I am free."

After the bonfire dies down, you can make resolutions for the future and then jump over the embers while others celebrate your resolution: "I'm going to give up fad diets and start eating healthier food every day", "I'm going to journal my anger, count to ten and go for walks when I'm upset and stop venting at innocent people", "I'm going to buckle down this year and finish the last class for my degree -- no more procrastinating and feeling sorry for myself because it's hard!" If it's not safe to jump over the bonfire (e.g. it's in a big stone berm) you can write the resolution on paper, read it and throw it into the fire while others cheer you on.

[Cheyla]

03:32 PM on 12/21/2011

Maybe light a candle?

[gulfportian]

12:05 AM on 12/20/2011

Dang, I think we learned this in the 3rd or 4th grade. How in the hell is this a newstory, rather than a thought over a cup of coffee in the workplace lounge.

[StrawHat]

05:22 AM on 12/20/2011

There are new people born every day and not all of them will go to your grade school. ;0)

[ArchStanton400]

11:59 PM on 12/19/2011

Does the Holiday of Saturnalia occur on the same day as the Winter Solstice? I am doing some research on the same. Comment appreciated. :)

[yeti7]

06:43 PM on 12/20/2011

I cannot believe you are seriously researching this subject though
considering you also have a computer and it took 1 sec to find this link for
you. You said comments appreciated, just didn't say what kind. Haha
happy winter unless you are in Australia or any where else south of the equator then it's
happy summer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia

[ArchStanton400]

08:15 PM on 12/21/2011

Not really. I do know a bit about the holiday. I was just hoping to tweak-the-feathers of some into doing the same who may, for whatever reason be uncomfortable with doing research on the same and the pagan origins of xmas and related topics for reason of their own supersticions. Obviously you are informed as I and I appreciate your candor and wish you a happy holiday.

[GrumpyOldPuppet]

11:57 PM on 12/19/2011

Alright! Early bird special, then party 'til nightfall!

Awesome graphics by the way!

Happy Solstice! More sunlight ahead!

[APBTLover01]

01:01 PM on 12/20/2011

I didn't realize it was this close to officially being "Winter". Just wanted to say.......
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!