This Sunday, 21 June, will be a short Father’s Day in the Southern Hemisphere; it will also mark an astronomical phenomenon – the shortest day and longest night of the year, which is called the Winter Solstice.
The word ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin ‘solstitium’, which means ‘sun-stopping’. So if you are always complaining about the day being too long and wish you had more time to sleep during the night, this Sunday is your lucky day.
A few myths and facts about this day:
• The earth is at its furtherest point from the sun on the Winter Solstice.
• The number of daylight hours on the day of the Winter Solstice depends on latitude.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun takes its shortest and lowest path across the sky.
• The sun rises and sets at its southernmost points along the horizon on the day of the Winter Solstice.
• This day is named ‘Yule’ in terms of pagan beliefs. The ‘birth’ of the sun was celebrated the morning after the night of the solstice. To celebrate, bonfires were lit and crops and trees were ‘wassailed’ with toasts of spiced cider. Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove-spiked apples and oranges, which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour.
