Whereas many issues have modified in people’ lives over the ages, one factor has remained the identical: the sacred nature of the solar.
Our beliefs, celebrations, and each day habits have revolved round the heat and light it supplies, inspiring numerous legends and festivals.
Meteorologically, many affiliate winter’s arrival with colder days and earlier sunsets. Nonetheless, astronomically, the winter season begins with the winter solstice.
As this yr’s winter solstice attracts nearer, here’s a take a look at what it’s, when it would happen this yr, and what myths and legends it’s related to.
What’s the winter solstice?
The winter solstice, also referred to as the hibernal solstice, occurs when both of our planet’s poles reaches its most tilt away from the Solar.
This occurs twice yearly, as soon as for the Northern hemisphere and as soon as for the Southern hemisphere, kicking off their winter seasons in December.
The day of the winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night time of the yr.
Since prehistoric occasions, the winter solstice has performed a major half in human cultures and, to at the present time, it’s celebrated throughout the globe.
It will get its identify from the Latin phrases “sol” and “sistere”, which imply “solar” and “to face nonetheless”. So, solstice refers back to the day the solar stands nonetheless.
When is that this yr’s winter solstice?
In 2024, the winter solstice will happen on Saturday, December 21. So, astronomically, the winter season gained’t begin till then.
Consistent with that, the astronomical winter season is because of come to an finish on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
What are a number of the myths and legends related to the winter solstice?
Historical tribes and communities within the Northern Hemisphere related the winter with their crops dying and their folks enduring freezing temperatures.
Given their lack of scientific data, they weren’t ready to determine why the solar appeared much less. So, to make sense of it, they got here up with their legendary explanations for all of it.
Many communities had been satisfied that the solar was a female determine: a goddess or queen of some kind. Pre-Islamic southern Arabians referred to as her Atthar, whereas Mesopotamians referred to the Queen of Heaven as Arunna. The Vikings knew her as Sol, and the Inuit referred to as her Solar Sister.
The Nordics believed that the winter solstice marked when their goddesses would give start, bringing extra mild into the darkened planet Earth. So, they referred to it as “mom’s night time”.
The Finnish legend defined that the goddess of the North Louhi would kidnap the moon and the solar, and maintain them captive inside a mountain, which prompted the chilly, darkish days of winter.
In the meantime, these within the Scottish Highlands referred to the winter solstice as “Grian-stad Geamhraidh”, that means “sun-stop winter”. Their myths defined {that a} hag-goddess who introduced on the winter chilly would solely be gone when Scots would carve her likeness right into a wood log and burn it.
How is the winter solstice celebrated as we speak?
Given how important the solar was to the survival of our communities, the winter solstice grew to become one of the essential days in our calendars.
To at the present time, we have a good time the lengthy and darkish night time that marks the turning level of the solar’s journey again to us.
In Europe, communities collect in historical monuments which might be rigorously aligned with the solar’s actions, like Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Eire. Whereas Newgrange factors to the winter solstice dawn, Stonehenge marks the winter solstice sundown.
Communities with Persian ancestry mark the day with the competition of Yalda, which celebrates the victory of sunshine over darkish and the birthday of the solar God Mithra. On winter solstice, households come collectively, keep awake by the night time to welcome the morning solar collectively, and feast.
In China, the Dongzhi competition celebrates the arrival of winter. It’s thought to have began as an end-of-harvest competition in historical occasions, when farmers would return from the fields to benefit from the fruits of their labours with their family members.
The competition is understood for its particular menu consisting of rice wine, dumplings, ginger rice, roasted meats and extra, and for households dedicating time to worshipping their ancestors and Heaven.
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