What is the Winter Solstice?

In the olden days the Chinese people celebrate Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice Festival) much like Chinese Lunar New Year by visiting relatives and friends. There is the usual feasting and businesses will take a break on that day. On this day, people will gather around to eat "tang yuan" (glutinous floor balls) which is symbolic of family unity and harmony.

But just what is the winter solstice?

A solstice is an astronomical term used when describing the day of the year when the sun is furthest from the equator. Two solstices exist, consisting of one solstice during the summer, which lengthens the day to the maximum, and another solstice during the winter, which shortens the day to the minimum during the year. Timing of these vary depending on which particular hemisphere you are focusing on.

Solstices are caused by the earth being tilted the farthest from the Sun for that hemisphere. While the earth orbits the sun, it meanwhile spins on its axis. This tilt causes one hemisphere to be closer to the sun, creating summer, while the other hemisphere is tilted further way, creating winter.

The word "Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. They form the word solstitium by combining sol (which means sun) and stitium (which means stop). When the solstice occurs, it appears as if the sun is doing exactly that. It reaches almost the same height at mid day for a few days around the solstice.

The winter solstice for the northern hemisphere occurs on one of two dates: December 21st or 22nd every year and the sun will be shinning directly over the tropic of Capricorn. June 20th or 21st is the winter solstice for the southern hemisphere, which occurs when the sun is shinning directly over the tropic of Cancer.

The winter solstice is also known as the shortest day, because it marks the year's shortest period of daylight and longest period of darkness. This is considered to be the midpoint of winter by many culture's calendars. It is actually quite surprising that, in three thousand years, the date of the solstice has only shifted by one day.

A lot of older civilizations observed the winter solstice as a period of being reborn, because the sun looks like it is regenerated and the daylight lasts longer.

This was usually considered a beneficial change for the world as the evil signified by darkness was conquered by the good signified by light. At this present time some civilizations continue to celebrate festivals of light. Besides the Chinese Dong Zhi festival, the Germanic cultures observe Yule and Hindus commemorate Diwali, a celebration of light.

Henry Fong
Feng Shui Consultant
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