Happy Winter Solstice

Today – December 21, 2024 – marks the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. It was precisely at 1:21 a.m. Pacific time (9:21 a.m. UTC — Coordinated Universal Time.) It’s the day when the North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun, resulting in the shortest day and longest night of the year. In the southern hemisphere, today marks the summer solstice, their longest day of the year.

From an astronomical perspective, during the winter solstice, the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky (from our northern hemisphere viewpoint) and appears to stand still momentarily before beginning its gradual northward journey again. The word “solstice” itself comes from the Latin “solstitium,” meaning “sun standing still.”

Many winter celebrations and traditions, including Christmas and Yule, are connected to this. In India, the most prominent being Makar Sankranti. We called it Til Sankranti because we would have til-based laddoos.

While Makar Sankranti is technically celebrated on January 14 or 15 (about three weeks after the astronomical winter solstice), it traditionally marked the sun’s transit into the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Makar) and the start of longer days.

We Bengalis celebrate Poush Sankranti with pitha, a sweet made from rice and patali gur (date palm jaggery.) Punjabis celebrate Lohri, lighting bonfires, and sharing traditional foods like rewri (sesame sweets) and peanuts. The festival marks the end of winter and pays homage to Surya.

In Tamil Nadu they celebrate the harvest festival Pongal with sweet pongal (a rice dish) in new pots and offer thanks for a bountiful harvest. In Gujarat, Uttarayan is celebrated with colorful kite flying festivals.

While the winter solstice marks the beginning of winter, the coldest days typically follow rather than begin with the solstice. This lag occurs because even though the days start getting longer after the solstice, the Earth’s surface continues to lose more heat than it gains for several weeks. After today, the days will gradually begin to lengthen in the northern hemisphere, bringing the promise of spring’s return – though we still have the heart of winter ahead of us.

Now for some winter solstice music. George Winston is an old favorite. His “Winter” album was one of the first CDs I bought decades ago. Listen:

Greetings from San Jose, CA. Cheers.