December Solstice Traditions and Customs
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December Solstice Traditions and Customs

The Winter Solstice is the astronomical moment where we have our shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere in terms of daylight when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, and regardless of what the weather is doing outside your window, the solstice spots the start of winter.

On 21st of December, we saw Winter Solstice, marked by the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In Delhi, the Sun rose at 7.10 am, and set at 5.29 pm, making the day 10 hours, 19 minutes, and 3 seconds long. On the contrary, in the Southern Hemisphere, there was Summer Solstice on 21st of December in places named Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Therefore, December 21 was spotted as the longest day in the year.

Hours of daylight 

The explanation for the hours of daylight not being the same lies in the tilting of Earth. at different angles, every planet, including earth, in the Solar System is tilted relative to their orbits.

The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5° to its orbital plane. This Earth’s tilt when conjoined with factors such as its spin and orbit further causes variations in the duration of sunlight that any location on the planet obtains on different days of the year. The Northern Hemisphere remains tilted for about half the year in the direction of the Sun, getting direct sunlight during long summer days. During the second half of the year, it tilts away from the Sun, and the days, in comparison gets shorter. Winter Solstice, that is, December 21, is the day when the North Pole is most tilted away from the Sun. The tilt is majorly accountable for the different seasons that we usually see on Earth. The Earth’s side which is facing the Sun experiences day, which changes to night as Earth continues to spin on its axis.

As we know, on the Equator, day and night are equal. The closer we move towards the poles, the most is the variation. Throughout summer in either hemisphere, that pole is tilted towards the Sun and the polar region receives 24 hours of daylight for months. Similarly, throughout winter, the region is in total darkness for months. The tilting of the Earth, thus, helps in defining some closely related imaginary lines, which are also an essential factor in determining when a Solstice emerges. These are latitudes, which are a measure of a location’s distance from the Equator. At latitudes of 23.5° when matching the tilt lie the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, north and south of the Equator. At 66.5° or 90° minus 23.5° lies the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, to the north as well as to the south. Therefore, in either direction, it is at latitudes higher than 66.5° that days of constant darkness or light emerge.

Winter Solstice Folklore and Celebrations

For centuries, this day has had a special place in several communities due to its astronomical importance, and is celebrated in many ways across the world.

Tekufat Tevet

Jewish people, in their language call the Winter Solstice as ‘Tekufat Tevet’, which traces the start of winter. Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus, the son of the divine mother goddess, Isis, for about 12 days during mid-winter.

Shab-e-Yalda

In Iran and neighbouring Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, the Winter Solstice is honoured in the form of Yalda or Shab-e-Yalda. Yalda is marked as the last day of the Persian month of Azar, and is seen as the success of light over darkness. It is also the birth anniversary of the sun god Mithra. Families celebrate this festival Yalda late into the night with special foods like ajeel nuts, pomegranates and watermelon, and recite works of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafiz Shirazi.

Inti Raymi

In the Southern Hemisphere, where the Winter Solstice lies in June, Peru honours the day with a festival called Inti Raymi, meaning “sun festival”. Before Peru’s colonisation by Spain, the Inca civilisation honoured the sun god Inti by fasting for three days, and celebrated on the fourth day with feasts and sacrifices. The festival was prohibited under the Spanish rule, but was later brought back in the 20th century and continues even today.

In pre-Christian Europe, solstice was celebrated as the start of winter. People ruthlessly butchered their farm animals so that they would not have to bear the burden of feeding them. They also created Wine which used to be ready for consumption during the summer months. Hence, the solstice turned into an occasion for a feast, before snow covered most of the land and people were forced to spend their time indoors.

The Winter Solstice also affects the culture to the extent that ancient people established various architectural constructions lined up encompasses to the phenomenon. Some of these  include the Stonehenge and Glastonbury (England), Chichen Itza (Mexico), Goseck Circle (Germany), and Temple of Karnak (Egypt).

Saturnalia

In Ancient Rome, the Winter Solstice festival referred to as Saturnalia and lasted for seven days. It was held to give privillage to Saturnus, the Roman god of agriculture and harvest, and was designated by the suspension of discipline and reversal of the usual order. During this period, all the grudges and quarrels were forgiven, wars were postponed, and people engaged in carnival-like festivities.

Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival

Along with the traditions from western cultures, the Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival is ceremonalized as a time for the entire family to get together to honour the past good year. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.

The Feast of Juul

This was a festival observed in Scandinavia when fires were lit to signify the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning Sun. A Yule or Juul log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honour of the Scandinavian god, Thor. It was known o be Thor’s job to bring the Sun’s warmth back to the people. The present-day custom of lighting a Yule log at Christmas is believed to have emerged with these fires associated with the Feast of Juul.

The Winter Solstice has, thus, played a crucial role in cultures worldwide from ancient times. Many of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with Christmas are actually associated with Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures.

Alban Arthan

 “Light of Winter’’, or Alban Arthan is a universal festival, which has been celebrated by many people and is believed to be the oldest seasonal festival of humankind. In the traditions of Druids, the Winter Solstice is known as a time of death and rebirth when the powers of nature and our own souls are recommence. It traces back the moment in time when the Old Sun dies during the dusk on the 21st of December and when the Sun of the New Year is born during the dawn on the 22nd of December, marking it as the longest night of the year.

The birth of the New Sun is thought to resuscitate the auras by Earth in mystical ways, unleashing a new life to spirits and souls of the dead. The prehistoric monument, Newgrange built in Ireland is cognated with the Alban Arthan festival. The site consists of a large circular mound along with a stone passageway and interior chambers. The chamber are seen to be flooded with sunlight on the Winter Solstice with the crack of dawn.

Conclusion

Although the solstice can be calculated, however, the direct observation of the solstice by amateurs is not quite possible as the sun moves too slowly or appears to stand still but with the help of astronomical data tracking, the precise timing of its occurrence can be gathered. One cannot directly detect the precise instant of the solstice, that is, by one cannot distinguish whether an object has stopped moving until one later notice that it has not moved further from the preceding spot, or that it has moved in the opposite direction. Moreover, to be accurate to a single day, one must be able to discover a change in azimuth or elevation less than or equal to about 1/60 of the angular diameter of the Sun. Observing that it occurred within a two-day period is easier, needing an observation precision of only about 1/16 of the angular diameter of the Sun. Therefore, various observations are of the day of the solstice rather than of the instant. This is often done by noting down the sunrise and sunset or using an astronomically aligned instrument which further enables a ray of light to be cast on a certain point around that time. The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates differ from winter solstice. Though, they depend on latitude, because of the variation in the solar day during the year caused by the Earth’s elliptical orbit.

References

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