Winter solstice

The Winter Solstice is the first day of the Season of Winter in the northern hemisphere and the first day of the Season of Summer in the southern hemisphere. On December 21 or 22 the Sun is farthest south and the length of time between sunrise and sunset in the northern hemisphere is the shortest of the year. In the United States, there are only about 9½ hours of daylight on this day. The solstice marks the time at which the sun shines directly overhead at 23.5 degrees south latitude. With the North Pole tilted away from the sun, locations north of the equator see the sun take its lowest and shortest path across the southern sky.

 “Solstice” is derived from the Latin phrase for “sun stands still”. That's because—after months of growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice – the sun's arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days. Then the arc begins growing longer and higher in the sky, reaching its peak at the summer solstice.

Ancient people considered this day a very important one. If the Sun kept sinking lower and lower, and the amount of sunlight each day got less and less, soon everything would be black and life would end. On this date, the Sun stopped and thereafter, it started to climb in the sky. This was a time of great celebration – the increasing hours of sunlight meant that life would continue. Many religious and cultural traditions celebrated the rebirth of sunlight after this dark period. The summer solstice, on the other hand, was a time to celebrate renewal, life, fertility, and the potential for a good harvest. It was celebrated through outdoor feasts with singing, dancing, and bonfires.

In ancient Roman times, a large celebration coincided with the winter solstice — it was called Saturnalia. This three- to seven-day winter festival involved drinking, eating and exchanging of gifts. An interesting facet of the celebration is that the roles of master and servant were reversed; for a few days each year, Roman masters would cater to their slaves or, at very least, consider them briefly to be as equals.

There is a tradition in several cultures, from the English to the Norse to the Greeks that involved presentation of a boar's head at the winter solstice. Because a boar is ferocious, it is often associated with death; therefore, it became known as a symbol of the "death" of the sun that occurs with the deepest part of winter. A boar was often served at the winter solstice with an apple in its mouth. There is even an English carol from 1521 that describes this culinary tradition of winter solstice.


Despite that there is cold and dark in the North at this time, here, in Belize, is hot and sunny weather.