Brr! For people in the Northern Hemisphere (above the Equator, like the United States), winter is a season of cold, dark days—and if you’re lucky, lots of snow to sled on!
The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun. It usually happens on December 21 or 22, at the exact same second around the world.
Because less sunlight reaches Earth, the winter solstice is also the day of the year with the least amount of daytime, known as the shortest day of the year. But the good news is that every day after the winter solstice will be a little longer, until we reach the day with the most hours of daylight. Called the summer solstice, it usually occurs between June 20 and June 22.
For people who live in the Southern Hemisphere, though, the winter solstice takes place in June. That’s because the seasons are reversed below the Equator. For instance, in New Zealand, it can actually snow in July!
Every day, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, tracing an arc across the sky. The height of that arc changes during Earth’s yearly orbit around the sun. As our planet orbits, one pole is tilted toward the sun, and one pole is tilted away from it. During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted away from the sun, so the height of the arc is low—and your shadow looks long.
In fact, during the days around the winter solstice, the sun is so low on the horizon that it appears to rise and set in the same place. That’s why the word solstice can be translated to “sun stands still’ in Latin.
Many cultures still mark the winter solstice with fun gatherings. However you celebrate the winter solstice, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, make sure to bundle up!
Article excerpted from https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/winter-solstice
Martha Washington Garden Club 