Welcome Winter! Celebrating the Official Arrival of the Winter Solstice

The sun has officially set on the last day of Fall; tomorrow afternoon, December 21st, the winter season begins. Just four days away from Christmas and other occasion to celebrate this week ~ because Wednesday marks the shortest day of the year, meaning from here forward, each day increases the amount of light we can enjoy. That's definitely cause for rejoicing, don't you think?

    
The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, at 4:48 P.M. EST. For the northern half of Earth (the Northern Hemisphere), the winter solstice occurs annually on December 21 or 22. (For the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on June 20 or 21.)

   

Did you know? During the winter season, the North Pole has an average temperature of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Ummm....BRRRRR.

Traditional Winter holidays in the US include Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, Groundhogs Day, President’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr day, and Valentine’s Day. Find out more interesting things at "10 Winter Facts for Kids"

  

   

The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the whole year, making it the “shortest day” of the year. Thankfully, after we reach the winter solstice, the days begin to once again grow longer and longer until we reach the summer solstice - the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Source

At the December solstice, Earth is positioned so the sun stays below the North Pole’s horizon. As seen from the latitude 23 1/2 degrees south of the equator, at the imaginary line encircling the globe known as the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun shines directly overhead at noon. This is as far south as the sun ever gets, and all locations south of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours. Source

By the way.....spring is in 89 days from right now. That's good news, isn't it? And SUMMER....well that is 182 days off. But we can still dream..... 💛🌞

What will you do to observe winter's arrival? I always love to go to the beach and take sunset or sunrise photos to mark dates such as this, especially as the sun will be setting early for the last time until next December. ❆⛄❄ But then again, we are only 4 days away from Christmas (I KNOW?!), so I may not have any free time to gaze at the sky just now, ha ha. 😁 Happy Christmas Week and have a wonderful day!

Sincerely,
Andrea

community first • marketing consultant • advocate for small business • lover

of classic cars • beach girl • believer that "together we accomplish more"