TOappointment at 16.59 today for transition to the winter season, even if, given the temperatures, it seems to have been there for some time. But the December 21, is the official date of the winter solstice which occurs in the northern or northern hemisphere, where Italy is also located.
On the contrary, in the southern (or southern) one there will be the summer solstice, the opposite event that determines the transition from spring to summer.
Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year
The day of the winter solstice is characterized by the shortest day of the year, although tradition erroneously attributes this primacy to December 13, Feast of Saint Lucia.
There will be, in fact, according to the geographical areas only indicatively 8/9 hours of light, between the sunrise and its sunset.
Not always on December 21st
The winter solstice has no fixed date, because of the slight discrepancy between our calendar and the time that the earth really takes to revolve around the sun. but sometimes it can move forward by a day or slip forward, even until December 23rd.
What is the winter solstice
The winter solstice has to do with the movement of the Earth around the sun And on itself, but also with the inclination of the rotation axis of our planet and the apparent motion of the Sun in the terrestrial sky.
The Sun rises and sets every day following an apparent movement on the celestial vault, linked precisely to the fact that the Earth revolves around it. On the day of winter solstice the Sun reaches its minimum declination in the sky at noon, that is, it is lower than on all other days, furthermore the arc that runs from East to West is the shortest ever.
It follows the minimum duration of the day and the maximum duration of the night. From the day of the winter solstice onwards, the nights begin to shorten and the days to lengthen.
Traditions, from the past to today
For many past civilizations, the winter solstice was a magical event and full of spiritual meanings. The Germanic, Celtic and Northern European populations in general, for example, celebrated it as moment of rebirth in which light manages to oppose the longest night of the year.
But with regard to traditions, one cannot fail to mention Stonehenge, the Neolithic site located in Wiltshire, England. According to various experts, the stones that compose it, called megaliths, are in fact positioned in such a way to favor some play of light during the solstices and equinoxes.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED