Events and Celebrations
Winter Solstice

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20/12/21

Winter Solstice

Tomorrow it is the Winter Solstice and the astrological beginning of winter. The Winter Solstice is always on either the 21st or 22nd of December. It is the shortest day of the year and really dark, but after tomorrow every day will get a little bit lighter until we get to spring. This is because every day there is a few more minutes of sunlight and it won’t get dark so quickly. After Christmas you will really notice it. It means spring is on its way and soon it will be warmer and things will start springing back to life.

Over the years the Winter Solstice has been an important day to many people and been marked by festivals, feasts and celebrations. Some think the Winter Solstice is the Sun dying and being reborn. It is the end of darkness and the promise of hope and light coming back.

It is believed that Stonehenge was built so it lined up with the sunset on the Winter Solstice and the sun rise of the Summer Solstice, although its tricky to know for sure as it was built such a long time ago!

Some even think that Christmas is linked to the Winter Solstice. Christians believe that Jesus is the light of the world so the timing of when we celebrate the birth of Jesus might have something to do with the Winter Solstice. The early Christians might have believed that it was a good time to celebrate the light of the world being born, along with the sun being reborn on the Winter Solstice.

Frozen Bubbles

Now it is winter the mornings will sometimes be frosty or even better you might wake up to snow! One day soon when it is really cold go outside and blow some bubbles. Some of the bubbles will land on the frosty grass and plants or snow and not pop. If you then leave them and watch them carefully for about 30 seconds the bubbles will freeze! Its amazing and so much fun!

Not only it is the Winter Solstice tomorrow, but in five days it will also be Christmas Day! Have a lovely day and we hope Santa brings you what you really wanted! Merry Christmas!

All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain Images.

Other images on the site may be Shutterstock or Creative Commons Images, which are credited appropriately.