Paranting Explainers | What exactly is the Winter Solstice?

It’s the shortest day of the year!

Words: Sam Lewis. Images: iStock

It’s that time of year where most faiths and religions celebrate a variety of festivals - both in contemporary and traditional ways.

From Christmas to Hanukkah, the winter months seem to be the time where families and loved ones come together to perform their annual rituals.

Today is one of those jolly times with it being the Winter Solstice.

We run through why you’ve probably heard of Winter Solstice but might not know much about its origins.

In a nutshell

Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) isn’t just the shortest day of the year, but the Pagan festival also marks the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere.

There are two solstices every year which are celebrated at the same time, depending on where in the world you live.

For the northern hemisphere, Summer Solstice (first day of summer) takes place in June and Winter Solstice, in December—today.

If you’re located in the Southern hemisphere, then the solstices occur the other way around—winter in June…