Winter Solstice Worksheet

• Dating back to neolithic times (about 12,000 years ago), the solstice may have signified a special moment of the annual cycle.
• Ancient Egyptians, Celts, and other groups celebrated the winter solstice and many different traditions.
• The winter solstice occurs on December 21st of each year.
• Historically, periods throughout the year marked timings for things like crop cultivation, animal mating cycles, and migration.
• Since starvation was common during the first few months of winter, the solstice became crucial.
• People needed to harvest and stock up on food in order to survive the “famine months”, as they were called, which referred to the months between January and April in the northern hemisphere, and July to October in the southern hemisphere.
• Many cattle and other farm animals were slaughtered before this time so they wouldn’t need to be fed and maintained during the winter, and so that people could rely on a stockpile of fresh meat to sustain them.
• Wine and beer were fermented and ready for drinking by this time to last groups until the spring.
• At sunrise on the winter solstice, the sun can be seen directly between the main stones at Stonehenge in England.
• The winter solstice is the day of the year with the shortest period of daylight and is also the longest night of the year.
• Astronomically, it occurs when one of the Earth’s poles is tilted at its maximum tilt away from the sun, happening twice a year, once in each hemisphere.
• Many people associate the winter solstice with the first day of winter, and the beginning of the Christmas season.
• The sun is at its lowest height in the sky on the winter solstice.

Cultural Significance of Winter Solstice

• In Iranian culture, the festival of Yalda is celebrated on the solstice.
• During the solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year, family and friends get together to eat, drink and recite poetry until the early hours or the morning.
• Foods typically eaten during Yalda include fruit and nuts, especially watermelon and pomegranates, as the color red symbolizes the colors of the coming dawn and the “glow of life”.
• Poems are usually from Divan-e Hafez.
• The Yule, or Yuletide, is a festival that is observed by various Northern European groups and Neopagans in Nordic countries and around the world.
• In more recent times, Yule is celebrated with gatherings that often involve a meal and gift-giving.
• In many forms of Wicca (a contemporary Pagan religious movement), Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god. In their belief, he is the newborn solstice sun.
• In East Asia, the winter solstice is celebrated as one of the 24 Solar Terms (referred to as “Dong Zhi” in Chinese).
• The 24 Solar Terms represent the 24 points of the traditional East Asian lunisolar calendar that matches a particular astronomical event. It may also signify a natural phenomenon that occurs on one of the 24 days.
• In the Japanese culture, there is a custom to soak oneself in a hot bath so as to not catch a cold in the coming winter months. These baths are called yuzu hot baths and include citrus fruit in them.

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