For many people in the US, Winter comes a little earlyas few waves of snow and blistering cold temperatures have colored the ground white. It’s not officially winter yet, and it won’t be until December 21 when the winter solstice occurs. So get ready because the world’s shortest day is underway.

What is the winter solstice?

The winter solstice has a few different meanings, so does everyone else. The most common meaning, and the one most familiar, is that it means the shortest day and longest night of the year in the world. These times vary depending on your location around the world, but the further North you are, the less sun you’ll get. In the Tropics, they get about 12 hours of sunshine. In Sweden, it’s closer to six hours. In Svalbard, there is no one.

The reason this happened is because of the second meaning of the winter solstice: At this time, the North Pole is hit far from the sun. According to The Farmer’s Almanacthe moment in which the earth’s axis is physically aligned as far as possible at 10:03 am on December 21. After that time, the process begins to reverse During the summer solstice. At that point, the North Pole will be at its closest orbit to the sun, giving us the longest day and shortest night of the year for the northern hemisphere.

How many days do we get?

It varies by location. The South has the most sun, with a little reaching Florida for more than 10 hours during the winter solstice. The Midwest and Great Lakes parts of the country can be almost nine hours. The Pacific Northwest can expect less than nine hours. Southern Alaska will get about six hours, and northern areas of Alaska will see around three hours.

If you want to see how the fare is in your area, the time and date have a Sunrise and Sunset Tool You can use Input your zip code in the Search Bar, and you will see your sunrise and sunset.

The town of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, has it worse than most of the US: it doesn’t take any days. The sun won’t rise again until January 22. We hope the people who live there are packing their Vitamin D supplements.

The difference between a solstice and an equinox

The autumn Equinox is the same several months agoso you can explore the differences. A solstice occurs when the poles of the earth are placed at a distance from the sun that they have been in for about a year, which is also an orbit around the sun. The equinoxes occur at the midpoint between each solstice. The autumn equinox occurs in September between the summer and winter solstices, while the Spring Equinox takes place in March between winter and summer.

During an equinox, the poles are superimposed, and the days are as long as they can be. It also has a couple of other interesting effects: The sun is pointed directly at the equator on an equinox, and the sun rises and sets in the east and in the west.

People use solstices and equinoxes to mark the changing of the seasons. There are two equinoxes and two solstices, which mark the start and end dates for the four seasons on earth.

Winter Solstice Celebration

While the solstice is close to the holidays, the celebrations for the winter solstice are much longer, and some winter Christmas traditions have become Christmas traditions as well. One of the most popular winter solstice celebrations is Yule, A Winter Festival Originating thousands of years ago among the ancient Norse. It is commonly celebrated in Europe and involves bonfires and extensive festivals. Yule celebrations also include the decoration of Evergreen Tree Decorations, such as Holly and Ivy.

If this sounds familiar, it is because Christmas has chosen most of the traditions of the past centuries, and both traditions have a different seasonal holiday. The terms yule and Christmas are often used interchangeably on these days in many cultures.

So if you want to celebrate the winter solstice, just do all the things you normally do for the holidays. Burn a yule tree, decorate a tree, eat a big feast with your family and hang mistletoe and wreaths – are all winter tips.