{"id":4788,"date":"2022-12-05T11:05:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hesarizona.org\/williams-charter-school\/?p=4788"},"modified":"2022-12-05T11:05:08","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:05:08","slug":"winter-starts-this-monthbut-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hesarizona.org\/williams-charter-school\/winter-starts-this-monthbut-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Starts This Month\u2026But Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common to think that the days get shorter in the winter, but the opposite is true. The shortest day of the year is the first day of winter, after which the days get progressively longer until the first day of summer in June, six months from now.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The first day of winter is called the winter solstice and it\u2019s an astronomical event which occurs this year in Arizona on <\/span>Dec. 21<\/span><\/a> at 2:48 p.m., although it varies from year to year and can occur anywhere between Dec. 20 and 23.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Winter Solstice?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Winter Solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight and the longest night. This year in Arizona we can expect just over 10 hours of daylight. In spots farther north, the days will be markedly shorter. For example, Glasgow, Scotland will experience approximately seven hours of daylight;<\/span> Fairbanks, Alaska<\/span><\/a> will experience less than four hours of daylight, as the sun will barely peek over the southern horizon there. There are even places that will see no sunrise at all, like Barrow, Alaska. In fact, anyone in the polar regions won\u2019t see the sun for a few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does this happen?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Earth is tilted; it does not face the sun upright, instead our planet lies at a 23.5\u2070 angle. This is one of the reasons why the seasons on Earth seem to be reversed between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, residents of areas on that part of the planet have summer while residents below the equator are experiencing winter. On December 21, the U.S. will be having its shortest day of the year; however, countries like Australia, Madagascar, and Chile will be having their Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year, because more of the Southern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun this time of year.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Earth orbits the sun, <\/span>the amount of daylight<\/span><\/a> each day changes in response to both the angle and the location of the planet along its year-long orbit. The angle of the Earth means that the sun\u2019s position in our sky moves along a north-south path throughout the year. The days shorten as the sun moves toward the Southern Horizon (moving toward the Winter Solstice) and lengthen as it moves northward again, reaching its zenith with the Summer Solstice.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does this mean?<\/b><\/p>\n

Since ancient times this event, which signals the start of winter, has been an important one in the cultural lives of many civilizations from the Maya and Incas in Central and South America to the Celts in Ireland and Scotland and the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most ancient humans used astronomical events, like solstices and equinoxes, to determine agricultural practices, like planting crops or storing food for a coming winter. The Winter Solstice marked the approach of what was called the \u201cfamine months.\u201d Historically, January to April were the coldest and harshest months in many climates and the times when food was most scarce, which meant it was the time when people were most likely to suffer or succumb to starvation or freezing, depending on the climate of their home regions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>cultural meaning<\/span><\/a> of the Winter Solstice is as varied as the cultures present on our planet, but there have always been a great number of holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals, and other celebrations held around this time of year. In some cultures, the Winter Solstice marked the last feast day before the lean times of winter ahead. It is also thought to have been viewed as the turnaround toward spring and summer, thus marking it as a day for celebration. It is this view that could explain the association of the Winter Solstice with the concept of rebirth and renewal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The solstice was important enough in these cultures to dictate the construction of massive monuments. There are several monuments that face, frame, or otherwise highlight the Winter Solstice sunrise and sunset. While there are hundreds in Egypt alone, let alone throughout the world, below you will find a few from different parts of the world:<\/span><\/p>\n