DATE WINTER 2022. The winter solstice 2022 takes place this Wednesday, December 21. Definition, time, celebration and associated rituals… Linternaute.com tells you more!
[Mis à jour le 21 décembre 2022 à 17h28] The winter solstice corresponds for the majority of us to a particular day. On this date, this Wednesday, December 21, 2022 therefore, the duration of the day is the shortest of the year… And the duration of this night will therefore be the longest. Admittedly, this December 21 will last a good 24 hours, we don’t tell you anything, on the other hand, it will only be daylight for 8 to 9 hours in the northern hemisphere! The winter solstice makes it the shortest day of the year in terms of brightness. Conversely, the night will therefore extend over nearly 16 hours, or two thirds of a 24-hour cycle.
But in reality, the solstice is an astronomical event that lasts only a moment, when the apparent position of the sun seen from our planet reaches its northern or southern extreme. This event opposes the equinox, the moment when day and night have the same duration. According to the forecasts of theInstitute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE), the winter solstice 2022 will occur this December 21 at 22:48 minutes 10 seconds (Paris time) very exactly (21:48 UTC). During the winter solstice, the Sun’s declination is at its minimum (-23°26.1′).
This winter, our hemisphere will mainly receive grazing rays with a limited heating effect and the North Pole will even be plunged into darkness! At the same time, summer will begin in the Southern Hemisphere, with the sun at its zenith above the Tropic of Cancer (each in turn).
During the winter solstice, the position of the Earth relative to the sun reaches its maximum inclination. Result : the sun seen from our planet is at its southernmost point (the southernmost point in relation to the horizon), the sunshine is as short as possible. During the summer solstice, it’s the opposite. The sun is the farthest north and we live the longest day of the year, marking the arrival of summer. Not to be confused with the equinoxes offall or of springin which night and day have the same duration…
Scientifically, the winter solstice corresponds to the time of the year when the trajectory of the sun, seen from the earth, reaches its southern (in the northern hemisphere) or northern (in the southern hemisphere) maximum. In other words, in our latitudes, at the time of the winter solstice, the sun rises only 18° above the horizon (when during the summer solstice, it is visible at an altitude of 65°, still above the horizon ). It is also the day when the inequality of day and night is maximum, with a maximum of night in the northern hemisphere and a maximum of day in the southern hemisphere (which actually lives its summer solstice) . The diagram below will help you to better visualize the phenomenon of the winter solstice (here represented on the right):
The Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE) provides the exact date and time of the winter solstice each year. For 2022, according to observations and calculations, the winter solstice will be on Wednesday 21 December at “9:48:10 p.m.” in universal time (UTC), i.e. 10:48 p.m. 10 seconds, Paris time.
But how does the Paris Observatory calculate the occurrence of the solstices, which it currently estimates until 2999? In scientific terms, the dates of the seasons are determined from the “geocentric apparent longitude of the sun”: “The winter solstice corresponds to the moment when the geocentric apparent longitude of the Sun is equal to 270°”, specifies the IMCCE on its website. “Geocentric longitude” is the apparent distance of the sun as seen from Earth.
More prosaically, in our current Gregorian calendar (which is a solar calendar), the winter solstice is likely to occur on December 20, 21, 22 or 23. And most often takes place on December 21 or 22. In our calendar, the duration of the seasons varies based on a large period of time: the dates of the seasons are not fixed, but the establishment of a solar calendar has made it possible to limit their drift.
The durations of day and night depend on the latitude as well as on the place of residence. Overall, on the day of the winter solstice, the daylight hours are just over 8 hours in the northern hemisphere. For a night which is therefore spread over almost two-thirds of a 24-hour cycle, or 16 hours!
The event of the solstice is opposed to that of the equinox, the moment when day and night have the same duration. The equinox is a moment of the year that marks the crossing of the sun from one celestial hemisphere to another. On that day, the star passes right at the zenith on the Earth’s equator (in other words, the point in the sky located exactly vertical to the equator). The solstice is the opposite of the equinox. It does not mark an equal duration between day and night, but a minimum (winter) or maximum (summer) day duration. And sometimes to the extreme: it’s dark all day in the North Polar Circle and day all the time in the South Polar Circle! In the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox takes place in March and the autumnal equinox in September when the solstices take place in June (for the summer solstice) and in December (on the winter solstice side). In the southern hemisphere, it is quite the opposite! But equinoxes and solstices still have one thing in common: by convention, the dates of equinox and solstice mark the transition from one season to another.
The date of the winter solstice marks the beginning of astronomical winter, and it is a landmark in societies to delineate the high points of the calendar and the seasons. The solstices have therefore been celebrated by many civilizations, from ancient Egypt to Christian societies. We note, for example, that in Europe, the celebration of Christmas corresponds, within a few hours, to the time of year when the northern hemisphere enters winter. In “Christmas : Such a long story”, the historians Alain Cabantous (Paris-I) and François Walter (University of Geneva) stop on a winter solstice considered as the day of birth of the “unconquered sun”, when the daytime light For the authors, the solstice is indeed the bearer of a “cosmic symbolism” among Christians: it thus becomes for them “the day when the ‘true’ sun of justice, identified with Christ, is born”.
In fact, Christianity relied on a pagan festival, which existed long before we celebrated the coming into the world of Christ. Christmas derives its etymology from Latin Natalis dies (day of birth), which designated in the West the moment from which the days get longer again.
The pagan festival which inspired Christians corresponds to the Saturnalia, these celebrations in honor of the Roman god of sowing and fertility : Saturn. Practiced in Ancient Rome, the festivities then spread over seven days, from December 17 to 24. The Romans gathered with family or friends, among the vegetation and garlands, and gave each other gifts of figurines made of bread or terracotta. The tunic of the poor and slaves replaced the usual toga. When Julius Caesar reforms the lunar calendar, the “Julian” solar calendar replaces it. And the winter solstice finds itself improperly set for December 25 (although it takes place on the 21st or 22nd!). The festive spirit has indeed remained and has survived the ages. When we tell you that there is reason to rejoice…
Today, we hardly celebrate the winter solstice anymore. As Slate explains, Christianity’s introduction of Christmas on December 25 did indeed contribute to the demise of some pagan rites that traditionally took place that same month, including Yule party, which marked among the Germanic peoples the winter solstice and therefore the arrival of this snow season. This celebration was thus a festival of light since from the winter solstice, the days begin to lengthen. Concretely, the people who celebrate the Yule festival today still light candles, make fires, collect things from nature, make wreaths and give each other gifts, most often handmade.
Here are the precise dates and times of the next seasonal changes that will make us switch to winter, for the years to come, until 2026, in Paris time:
- December 21, 2022 at 10:48 p.m.
- December 22, 2023 at 4:27 a.m.
- December 21, 2024 at 10:20 a.m.
- December 21, 2025 at 4:03 p.m.
- December 21, 2026 at 9:50 p.m.