The Shortest Day Of The Year And Its Astrological Importance

The year’s shortest day is also called the Winter solstice and happens every December. This is an astronomical event that Mother Earth experiences when one of the poles is at its farthest from the sun. This causes the day to become short and the night long. This phenomenon happens twice a year, once in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

There is also the summer solstice where the exact opposite happens. One of the poles tilts towards the sun, making it a long day and a short night. The tilting action to and away from the sun is why countries around the poles have extreme weather conditions. That means Australia has a summer Christmas and other countries have a snowy Christmas. India, which lies completely in the Northern Hemisphere, experiences the December solstice on December 21 or 22. In the Southern Hemisphere, there will be a June solstice falling on June 20 or 21.

The Origin of the Word Solstice

Solstice is a Latin word that means ‘sun stands still’. Winter solstice has names like hiemal solstice, brumal solstice, or hibernal solstice. Scientifically, during this period, the sun appears as if it is rising and setting at the same place, low on the horizon. That is one of the reasons for the Latin word Solstice.

Before knowing the scientific reason behind it, the ancestors thought of the shortest day of the earth as the sun’s birth and rebirth. Therefore, people and cultures celebrate many rituals and festivals during this period. In the Neolithic times, activities like the sowing of crops, the mating of animals, tracking food reserves were done. Some even slaughtered the cattle as they feared that they could not feed them during the harsh winter.

Rituals for Solstice Across Cultures

The Chinese celebrate a festival called Dongzhi on the shortest day of the year. The families get together and enjoy meals—the Irish gather at Newgrange, a 5,000 year old graveyard, and witness the sun light up the tomb. India, too, holds a lot of festivals and events during this period. The most famous is Makara Sankranti. The festival happens every year in January and marks the sun’s first day of transit into Makara, Capricorn. It is the end of winter and the beginning of warmer days.

Astrological Importance of the Shortest Day

As per the law of nature, maintaining balance is important. Mother nature does some occasional extremes to maintain this balance and ensure sustenance in the long run. The same thought seems to hold true when it comes to maintaining Earth’s geological conditions. The extremes here are the Solstices and the Equinoxes. The day becomes longer and the night shorter on the summer solstice as the sun shines for more time. The day becomes shorter and the night longer during winter solstice due to less sunshine. And then there is the spring and fall equinox in March and September, where the days and nights are equal everywhere in the world.

The solstices are phenomena that are interesting to understand. It happens once at the start of winter and again at the beginning of summer. The sun is at the lowest and highest relative to the celestial equator during these two days. The celestial equator is nothing but an imaginary circle on the same plane as the equator. Due to both being in the same place, from the perspective of the earth, the sun appears to stand still during a solstice.

The Importance of the Winter Solstice As Per Astrology

The sun remains still on the equator’s Southernmost point, also called the Tropic of Capricorn. It then starts to move slowly towards the North again. The Winter Solstice usually falls on December 21 or 22 and is the shortest day of the year. Astrologically speaking, or as per Vedic Winter Solstice, it starts the Capricorn zodiac sign. From a spiritual perspective, the shortest day of the year is the rebirth of all forms of life. The sun shines brighter from this day on, and the days become longer.

The geological phenomenon has an astrological influence and symbolises hope, positivity, and faith. It also has other significant influences on people based on the zodiac signs. Astrologers believe that there is a deep relation between solstices and equinoxes with cardinal signs and the zodiac signs. These cardinal signs mark the beginning of each season and are analogous to the start of new initiatives. It celebrates the start of something new and is a sacred marker. Every season has a specific task to do, and humans rely on these cardinal signs. 

The equinoxes and solstices have a seasonal relationship that applies only to the Northern Hemisphere. For the southern hemisphere, the season happens the other way.