Winter Solstice: Some interesting facts about the day
Today is Winter Solstice, the day when the northern hemisphere of the earth witnesses the shortest day and longest night. On this day, the earth's axis is tilted as far away as possible from the sun. Technically, it is the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere and their winter solstice comes in June. Here are some interesting facts about this phenomenon.
The Winter Solstice leads to the setting in of astronomical winter. The solstice can sometimes also occur on December 22. India will experience Winter Solstice at 21:29 pm today. Today marks the shortest day of the year and is officially the start of the winter season. However, even though winter is officially setting in, days will start getting longer again from tomorrow.
The day holds importance in different cultures. Ancient Romans marked it as the day of the return of Saturn, their god of agriculture. In UK, people celebrate the occasion by paying a visit to Stonehenge to witness the sunset and sunrise. Christmas and Hanukkah are also associated with pagan festivals that celebrate the Winter Solstice.
In China, it is called Dōngzhì Festival. People pay obeisance at the tombs of their ancestors and eat foods and spices high in Yang energy to keep themselves warm. Dumplings and rice balls filled with meat are enjoyed with family and friends. In India, Makar Sankranti is celebrated to mark the end of the winter solstice month and is a holy day for Hindus.
Since early civilizations, the day has held immense importance for agriculture. It served as an indicator for sowing crops and to gauge the food reserves. In temperate climates, it was a day to feast and the last day of the season before deep winter sets in, which usually led to a lack of meat as animals were usually slaughtered to save on their feed.
Google, known to mark special days with interesting doodles, is marking the onset of winter also with a doodle - a hedgehog covered in snow, with pine cones and other winter stuff around it. To recall, Google had featured a hedgehog on Summer Solstice (June 20) as well, which was covered in fruits and shells and wore sunglasses.
