On this ultimate day of rest, even the mighty Sun stands momentarily still in the sky.
The word solstice literally means “sun standing still.” At the moment of the winter solstice, the path of the sun in the sky over the past six months has reached its furthest southern position and now turns northward.
Today at noon, the sun will stand directly overhead at latitude 23.5oSouth, the Tropic of Capricorn. For residents of the SouthernHemisphere, it will be the longest day of the year, but for us in theNorthern, the day will be the shortest. Indeed, for regions north of66.5o latitude, the Arctic Circle, the sun will not rise onthis day. At best on this date, those near the Circle will see atwilight glow in the noontime sky. And at the North Pole, the day willsignify “Midnight.”
Although for northern latitudes, the deepest cold is still a monthor more away, the winter solstice has been used as the starting pointfor the winter season. This definition is based on the positionof the sun in the sky between the Winter Solstice and the SpringEquinox. The period has little to do with the weather, even though itdoes encompass some of the coldest months of the year in northernmiddle and high latitudes.
In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for the peoplein the northern European latitudes. The growing season had ended and the tribe had to liveoff of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. The people would betroubled as the life-giving sun sank lower in the sky each noon. They fearedthat it would eventually disappear and leave them in permanent darkness and extreme cold.
After the winter solstice, they would have reason to celebrate as they saw thesun rising and strengthening once more. Although many months of cold weather remained beforespring, they took heart that the return of the warm season was inevitable. Theconcept of birth and or death/rebirth became associated with the wintersolstice. The Aboriginal people had no elaborate instruments to detect thesolstice. But they were able to notice a slight elevation of the sun’s pathwithin a few days after the solstice — perhaps by DEC-25. Celebrations wereoften timed for about the 25th.
As the human species moved further away from its tropicalbirthplace, the impacts of the short winter days became important andthe event woven into the social, cultural and religious fabric as wellas the species’ biology.
Festivals, rituals and celebrations appear throughout humancultures, beginning at least in the Neolithic Period of 10,000 yearsago. We all have heard of Stonehenge and its function as a megalithicsolar observatory. We now know that it has a contemporary counterpartin Ireland called Newgrange, which is estimated to be 5000years old. Newgrange is also a solar observatory designed to funnel ashaft of sunlight deep into its central chamber at dawn on the day ofthe Winter Solstice. Around the world, many such sites, includingmedieval churches, incorporate elements to determine and mark theimportant day of the Winter Solstice.
The best known celebration/festival during late December isChristmas, but it is a recent festival added to the list. Its date wasset by the Roman Emperor during the Fourth Century to coincide withpagan rituals and celebrations surrounding the Winter Solstice. Thereare great similarities to the “Birth of the Son” and the “Rebirth ofthe Sun” beyond the obvious similarity of words.