The Winter Solstice: Reflecting on the Longest Night

By Ali Roberts

Photo by Denys Nevozhai

The solstices are astronomical events that mark the longest and shortest days of the year. The winter solstice occurs on the shortest day of the year, which falls on either June 21 or 22 for the Southern Hemisphere and December 21 or 22 for the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the winter solstice occurs on December 21. From the winter solstice on, days begin to grow longer again and will continue to lengthen until the summer solstice comes again.

The solstices occur because of the Earth’s tilted axis. At any given moment, one hemisphere of the Earth is tilted away from the sun and the other hemisphere is tilted toward it. The winter solstice occurs when one hemisphere is tilted as far away from the sun as it can be and the sun is situated low on the horizon. In the northernmost or southernmost parts of either hemisphere, the sun may not appear at all for a period during the winter.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac points out that we may often think of the solstice as an entire day, however, it is just a brief moment during the Earth’s rotation. Despite this, festivals to celebrate the solstices often last for days. Some of these celebrations stem from traditions going back thousands of years. While not all traditions view the winter solstice as a happy time, there are some that find reason for joy during the longest night of the year.

One such celebration is Yule, which is a holiday that was historically celebrated by Germanic peoples in Scandinavia with roots in ancient Norse traditions. In modern times, Yule is celebrated by neo-Pagans. Yule festivities begin on the day of the winter solstice and continue over a period of 12 days, with themes of feast and fire.

In December in Northern Arizona, the A'shiwi and Hopi peoples celebrate Soyal (Soyaluna), recognizing new life, celebrating nature, and honoring their guardian spirits (Kachinas) in a festival that lasts 16 days. The Soyal ceremony is held to call the sun and bring back longer days.

One common way to participate in celebrations around the time of the winter solstice is feasting. During the winter months, many people have historically been surviving on stored foods from harvest of the previous season. On the shortest day of the year, one of the most sustaining things, both physically and emotionally, is being with loved ones and eating a delicious meal together. During this year’s winter solstice, consider taking some time to sit in reflection on your growth during the year and to prepare for the coming year.

Wishing a wonderful solstice to all.

References:

https://www.altmagazine.org/blog-post/soyal-a-celebration-of-new-life

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yule-festival

https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Hopi+Soyal+Ceremony

https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-winter-winter-solstice

https://www.almanac.com/