Winter Solstice

For everyone living in the Northern Hemisphere today, December 21 , is the shortest day of the year. Known as Winter Solstice it was first celebrated as a pagan holiday. The day signifies the first day of winter. While today is the day that the Winter Solstice will occur the truth is that the event will take place at 5:23 pm Eastern time.

Two solstices occur each year, the winter and summer. The solstices help determine seasons and length of day like hours. The phenomenon occurs because the Earth spins on a tilted axis. Perhaps, the tilt is caused by a massive object hitting Earth billions of years ago or at least that is what scientific minds think.

The North and South Poles are directly impacted by the tilt of the Earth Depending on the tilt either the North or South Poles will be in more contact with the sun. One half of the year will see the South attract more sun than the North and the second half of the year will see the reverse Thus creating seasons that we experience.

Those living near the Arctic Circle will barely receive any daylight today, during winter solstice. The amount of hours of sunlight you will get can be found on TimeAndDate.com.

Stonehenge is an interesting scenario in the seasonal changes. It is thought that it was built to help mark solstices and equinoxes. Stonehenge is aligned directly toward the sunset during winter solstice. During summer solstice the sun rises directly over the Heel Stone However, what was the reason that it was important to mark the solstice??

The winter solstice may have been an important time in ancient times. It may have been a time when cattle needed slaughtered before winter, it may have also been important in the aging of wine and beer. Even today, Stonehenge is imortant to the gathering of modern technology. .

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