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Winter solstice

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A beautiful sunset view of the Seventeen Arch Bridge during the winter solstice in Beijing.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is a special moment in the year when one of Earth’s poles tilts the farthest away from the Sun. This happens twice every year, once in each part of the world. During the winter solstice, the place where it happens has the shortest day and the longest night of the year. The Sun also appears the lowest in the sky all year long.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice usually happens in December, on December 21 or 22. In the Southern Hemisphere, it happens in June, usually on June 20 or 21. Many people think of this time as the middle of winter.

Since ancient times, many cultures have celebrated the winter solstice with special festivals and events. Some very old buildings like Newgrange, Stonehenge, and Cahokia Woodhenge are built in a way that they line up with the sunrise or sunset on the winter solstice.

The winter solstice is a happy time for many people around the world. They celebrate with lights, feasts, and special traditions. It is a time to enjoy the return of longer days and more sunlight.

Images

Diagram showing how the Earth is lit by the Sun during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.
The interior of Newgrange Passage Tomb in Ireland, a historic monument that aligns with the winter solstice.
Ancient Egyptian artwork showing Horus the Child within a sun disc, surrounded by symbolic elements.
Ancient Roman artwork showing a relief of the sun god Sol, found in Lyon.
An illustration of an Old Norse Yule festival from 1880 by Ferdinand Lindner.
A traditional Japanese print showing the goddess Amaterasu peeking out of a cave, illustrating an ancient myth.
A stunning view of Earth rising over the lunar horizon, captured by astronauts during the Apollo 8 mission.
A colorful educational montage showing the planets of our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth with its Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Each planet is shown to scale relative to others in its group, providing a clear and engaging view of our cosmic neighborhood.
An artist's rendering of HE 1523-0901, one of the oldest known stars in our galaxy, located about 7500 light years from Earth.

Related articles

Winter
Solstice
Earth
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
Stonehenge

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Winter solstice, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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