OVERVIEW OF FIRST DAY OF WINTER
The date of the winter solstice is the date with the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice usually falls on December 21/December 22. Since the winter solstice, summer solstice, vernal equinox, and autumnal equinox were discovered by our ancestors in the northern hemisphere their naming conventions correspond to the northern hemisphere seasons. Thus the winter solstice is defined for the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere the "winter solstice" is the longest day and shortest night,and is in fact the start of their summer. At the summer solstice, the northern hemisphere is inclined towards the sun, and it appears to be at its farthest above the celestial equator.
HISTORY OF FIRST DAY OF WINTER
In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is in a point of its orbit at which the northern hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun. This causes the sun to appear at its farthest below the celestial equator when viewed from earth. In fact on the winter solstice the sun appears over the Tropic of Capricorn, roughly 23.5 degrees South of the celestial equator. Solstice is a Latin borrowing and means "sun stand", referring to the appearance that the sun's noontime elevation change stops its progress, either northerly or southerly.
FIRST DAY OF WINTER TRIVIA
What is Yule?
Yule is the winter solstice Blót (celebration) in Ásatrú, the pagan practices of the Germanic peoples prior to the arrival of Christianity. Today, it is also one of the eight solar holidays, or sabbats, of Neopaganism. In modern neopaganism, Yule is celebrated on the winter solstice: in the northern hemisphere, circa December 21, and in the southern hemisphere, circa June 21.
"Yule" and "Yuletide" are also archaic terms for Christmas, sometimes invoked in songs to provide atmosphere. Indeed, this is the only meaning of "Yule" accepted by either the full Oxford English Dictionary or the Concise Oxford Dictionary, and people unfamiliar with ancient Germanic pagan traditions will not distinguish between Yule and Christmas. This usage survives in the term "Yule log"; it may also persist in some Scottish dialects.
Source: The English Wikipedia
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