The winter solstice arrives at 11:48 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, marking the longest night and shortest day of the year as the Northern Hemisphere of Earth tilts to its farthest point from the sun.
The solstice also marks the start of winter, the coldest three months in the Northern Hemisphere, noted
USA Today. The days will start to get longer now.
"Although the winter solstice marks the shortest daylight period in the Northern Hemisphere, it's not the day of the latest sunrise or earliest sunset," said Justin Grieser of the
Washington Post. "Most places in the mid-latitudes see their earliest sunset two weeks before the solstice, while the latest sunrise is not until early January. The misalignment is the unique result of the Earth's 23.5-degree tilt and our elliptical orbit around the sun."
While the winter solstice does not often produce the coldest temperatures of the season, this year's temperatures will be warmer than most, climbing from 10 to 20 degrees above the average in the United States, Canada and many places in Europe.
"Here in the U.S., winter remains in hiding through at least the end of December if you live east of the Rockies," said Grieser. "If not for the long, dark nights, you would almost think the calendar got fast-forwarded to spring. Winter weather lovers will surely be disappointed, but the lengthening days are still something to celebrate."
USA Today said that since the winter solstice happens at the exact same time all over, it will occur in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia on Tuesday.
According to
National Geographic, a winter solstice celebration at Ireland's Newgrange dates back to 3,200 B.C. where a huge Stone Age tomb was built. A tunnel facing the solstice sunrise may have been where the dead were placed because a small window allows the solstice light to cover the chamber for 17 minutes.
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