Darkness falls early these days and the long days of summer have shortened. In warm climates like we experience in India, cool winter days are welcome. December 21 is known as the Winter Solstice where solstice means “sun standing still”. December 21 is the shortest day of the year and the longest night. In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is directly overhead at noon only along the Tropic of Capricorn.
In a sense, this day is the reawakening of the seasons and the cycle begins again. In ancient times, this day was also known as Yule because on that day a huge log — the Yule log — was added to a bonfire and everyone would dance and sing around it in the hope of reawakening the sun from its long winter slumber. The Romans on the other hand celebrated this day to honour Saturnus, the god of harvest and Mithras, the god of light.
Because of the axial tilt of the earth and the daily rotation, the earth’s axis is always pointed in the same place in the sky. So, as the earth follows its orbit around the sun, the hemisphere that faces the sun experiences summer for six months, as the other half which faces away from the sun experiences winter. The North Pole is tilted 23.5° away from the sun. So, all places above a latitude of 66.5° north (Arctic Polar Circle) will be in darkness, and locations below a latitude of 66.5° south (Antatctic Polar Circle) will receive 24 hours of daylight.
Seasonally, December 21 is significant because from this day on, there is a gradual lengthening of daylight hours. If you are fortunate enough to travel from the Antarctic Circle towards the South Pole you will get to see the midnight sun at this time. On the other hand if you are travelling from the Arctic Circle towards the North Pole you will not be able to see the sun!
Nimi Kurian
Precession of the equinoxes
We are drawing close to December 21, 2012; the day, which many erroneously believe, the ancient Mayans predicted the end of the world. But, on this date, the sun aligns with the centre of the spiral galaxy — the Milky Way. This happens roughly every 25,920 years, and the phenomenon is known as precession of the equinoxes.
With every precessional process, the earth passes through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. The latter is a small band of the sky about 8° on either side of the ecliptic; the narrow path followed by the sun, the moon and the planets in the solar system.
Every 2,160 years on the spring equinox (March 21), the sun rises against the background of a different constellation of the Zodiac. In other words, if on the spring equinox, about an hour before dawn, you were to gaze due East, you come across one of the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. These days, the sun rises between Pisces and Aquarius, suggesting that we live in the transitional period between the Age of Pisces and Aquarius.
The ancient Egyptians knew about precession of the equinoxes. The circular Zodiac found in the temple of Hathor at Dendera in Egypt sheds more light on precession of the equinoxes.
Incidentally, the Mayans, who regularly tracked the movement of stars across the sky, also measured precession of the equinoxes, but from the winter solstice rather than the spring equinox. Their Long Count calendar, which began in 3114 BC, was set to end precisely on a winter solstice — December 21, 2012.
The ancient Mayans interpreted time as being cyclical in nature. Their Long Count calendar began at the onset of the current cycle (known as the 5th Sun) on August 13, 3114 BC. December 21, 2012 the day when their Long Count calendar ends, could well be sort of a marker in time which the Mayans used to point the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one.
Sanjay Sivadas
Some facts
The earth orbits the sun at an average speed of 67,000 miles/hour).
It takes light 8 min 20 seconds to travel from the sun to the earth.
Evergreens and trees were cherished at solstice as a natural symbol of rebirth and life amid winter whiteness.
From Stonehenge in England to the Kokino observatory in Macedonia, people gather to mark the winter solstice.
After the solstice, each day gets progressively longer, causing seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mood disorder affecting an estimated half a million people worldwide every year.
