Winter Solstice…
2020 winter solstice is coming!
The longest night of the year, the night that is dark and
full of terrors, the night that brings along the army of the dead and the Night
King.
Yes, we are not kidding!
Just minus the army of the dead and the night King, what
we’re talking about is the Winter Solstice: the longest night of the year!
In the midst of the hurly-burly of holiday season, many are
vaguely aware of the arrival of winter Solstice, the shortest day and the longest
night of the year.
The day officially marks the end of the fall and the
beginning of winter! It’s the day when we take out our Christmas lights, cover
our bodies with layers of clothing, build a snowman (probably) or snuggle in
our cozy blanket all night long.
But despite that, the day is also known for its rich
history, which inspired mystical celebrations in anticipation of the subsequent
return of the sun. The day has been celebrated worldwide for thousands of
years. It was the time of the year when ancient cultures gathered stock,
performed cultural rituals and began the new half of the year with festivals.
From Vikings to Maya and the ancient Chinese, they had their own ways of celebrating
this day!
Whether you’re looking to relish this year’s solstice or
just curious about one of history’s most ancient holidays, here are some interesting
facts to learn about the shortest day of the year and winter solstice celebration 2020 or solstice tradition!
Winter
Solstice or December Solsticemostly happens on December 21 or 22
The actual date of the winter solstice differs from year to
year, and can occur any day between December 20 and December 23, though it
mostly falls on 21st or 22nd of December. This is because
of the tropical year; the time taken by the sun to return to the exact spot
corresponding to Earth is distinct for the calendar year.
It
occurs at a specific day and at a specific time
Regardless of wherever you live, you will observe a winter
solstice at the same moment and on the exact same time as everyone else on the
planet. This is the time when the North Pole will be farthest away from the sun
with 23.5 tilt of the Earth’s axis. This is when the sun shines directly over
the Tropic of Capricorn, which happens once in a year.
Some
ancient cultures referred to this day as a time of death and rebirth!
The apparent death of the light and the subsequent
starvation over the winter months had great influence over ancient communities,
who performed different solstice celebrations and winter solstice rituals aimed to pray for the
return of the sun and the beginning of a new life.
Scandinavian and Germanic pagans used to light fires and
burn Yule logs as a symbolic means of embracing the return of light. People used to slaughter cattle and other
animals to prepare huge feast out of them as a means of enjoying the last fresh
meat for several months. Alban Arthan, a Druidic celebration of winter
solstice, was held in the belief of the death of the old sun and birth of the
new one.
The
winter Solstice marked the great discoveries in the world…
Call it a coincidence or some superstition related to this
day, but in previous years, many new and strange worlds have been discovered on
the winter solstice.
For example, on December, 1620, the Pilgrims discovered a
new place at Plymouth where they were allowed to worship freely. On the same
day in 1898, scientists named Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium, marking
the beginning of the atomic age. And on 21st December 1968, humans
travelled to the moon for the first time in Apollo 8 spacecraft.
The
word Solstice means “The world stands still”
The world Solstice is derived from a Latin scientific term
solstitium, in which ‘Sol’ stands for “sun” and the past tense of sistere, meaning
“to make stand.” in case you didn’t know solstice meaning.
The word explains the phenomenon that the sun’s position in
the sky increases and decreases throughout the year at noon, but it appears to
be standing still in the days of the solstice. In today’s age, we consider that
the Earth is relative to the Sun on the winter solstice.
On the
winter solstice, the Stonehenge is aligned to the sunset
The winter solstice sunset appears to align with the primary
axis of the pre-historic monument as well as of Newgrange- another megalithic
structure build around the same period as Stonehenge- lines up with the winter
solstice sunrise.
This rare alignment of sun and the Stonehenge holds great
religious significance to some people, while others believe that it was a mere
coincidence that the structure was built in a way that aligns with winter
solstice sunset.
Till this day, the Stonehenge and the solstice sunset
alignment still remains a mystery, but thousands of hippies, pagans, and other
curious-minded people gather there every year to celebrate the occasion.
Dark
spirits walked down the earth during winter solstice
The long night of Game
of Thrones just got real!
In the Zoroastrian folklores, it was believed that evil
entities roam around the Earth! Not only this, but it has also been believed
that the destructive spirits of Ahriman are strongest during this long night—because
of which people used to stay awake all night— spending the night like a
festival in the company of one another.
They chatted, drank, ate, and shared poetries and stories with
one another in order to avoid any encounters with dark spirits. Similar beliefs
have also been included in Celtic and Germanic folklores.
Some
believed that the world is going to end on winter Solstice in 2012
According to the Mesoamerican Long count calendar used by
the ancient Maya, December 21, 2012 marks the end of a 5126-year cycle which
also equates to the date of 13.0.0.0.0. Some people believed that this moment
would bring the end of the world or some other catastrophic event.
Some modern theorists believed that it could mark the
beginning of a new era, involving the total rehab of Earth and its habitants,
an idea that inspired the movie 2012!
Thankfully, none if this happened in 2012, otherwise we wouldn’t have to live
this dreadful year of 2020.
As the longest night of the year is inching closer, you
might want to grab some daggers made of dragon stone or Valerian steel swords
(just kidding!). What we actually mean is ‘popcorns’ and enjoy watching movies from our
list of 80+
Love, Disney and modern Christmas movies.
Happy winters and don’t forget to survive winter don’t starve with 13 incredible tips!
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