The shortest day and the longest night in the year, December 21, marks the Winter solstice, the first day of the winter in the Northern hemisphere of the globe.
A solstice is said to occur when either of the Earth's poles--North or South-- is tilted away from the Sun to the maximum.
Here are a few interesting points about the phenomenon of the solstice.
The word solstice has etymological origins in Latin, the preferred language for scientific naming. Solstice derives its meaning from two Latin terms sol, which means sun and sistere meaning standstill, essentially meaning the "sun stands still".
The astronomical phenomenon occurs twice every year, once each in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
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In India, Winter solstice will take place at 3.53 a.m. on December 22 and will be marked by a host of religious observances and celebrations.
In the Northern Hemisphere, where most of the global population resides, it falls in December. In the Southern Hemishphere, the phenomenon in marked in June.
It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice.
This year it is particularly special as the upcoming December full moon, named the Cold Moon, will be visible in the night sky along with the Ursid meteor shower. The moon will appear full both on Friday and Saturday nights.
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In the Northern Hemisphere, it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, located at 23.5° south of the equator.
In December, the Earth's North Pole turns away from the Sun, giving the Northern Hemisphere its shortest day and the Southern Hemisphere its longest day of the year
This year, Google also decided to catch up on the event celebrating it with the search engines logo commemorating the day with a doodle dedicated to Winter solstice.
Winter solstice traditions around the world
In Ireland, people gather days before the solstice at Newgrange -- a massive gravesite that is more than 5,000 years old. Crowds selected by lottery wait for a chance to see the sunrise light up the ancient passage tomb.
At Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, large crowds gather to celebrate and capture the moment when the sun directly aligns with the famous stones.
In China, where they call the Winter Solstice Dongzhi Festival, people enjoy rice balls called tang yuan, which translates to "family reunion". This treat is said to bring prosperity and unity-something all of us can enjoy on this auspicious day.
