Biggest day and shortest night. The shortest day What is the astronomical meaning of the winter solstice? Longest day of the year

Spring is coming

This year, the winter solstice falls on Thursday, December 21st. Traditionally, December 22 is considered the shortest day in the northern hemisphere, but in practice this astronomical event jumps around the calendar due to its mismatch with the duration of the solar year. At half past eight in the evening Moscow time, the Sun will reach its farthest position from the celestial equator towards the South Pole of the world. And gradually again will begin rapprochement with the Earth.

To be precise, the current winter solstice will occur at 19:28 Moscow time. This day at Moscow latitude was the shortest of the year: the luminary rose above the horizon by only 11 degrees. Beyond the Arctic Circle, a long twilight night sets in, and closer to the North Pole, even reflections in the sky in the daytime are not visible.

Despite the gloom of the astronomical picture, the peoples of the world have long celebrated the winter solstice as the day of the birth of a new cycle of life, the rebirth of the Sun. This is because from now on, the length of daylight hours will gradually increase, after winter comes spring and the long-awaited summer. In Russian folklore, there are signs dedicated to the shortest day of the year: if on this day there is frost on the trees, it means that the grain harvest will be rich.

By the way, it is curious: it is believed that the weather on New Year's Eve will be exactly the same as on the shortest day. In Moscow, apparently, severe frosts do not threaten lovers to walk around the festive city to the sound of chimes.

For the winter solstice, there are many tips on how to spend it correctly for the benefit of the future. So, it is believed that on this day success accompanies any undertakings - in work, study and even in personal life. It is also believed that on this day it is useful to engage in meditation and self-development.

There is a tradition to throw away old unnecessary things, which is a symbol of readiness for renewal and a new stage in life.

There is also such a belief: if on the day of the winter solstice you write down your sorrows on paper and burn it, saying: "All this is in the past" - then the problems will really be left behind.

The shortest day of the year is December 21 or 22 (depending on the shift in the calendar). It has a special name - "Winter Solstice Day". This is the day of the shortest daylight hours (only 5 hours 53 minutes) and the longest night. From the next day, as you know, it begins to gradually increase. In scientific terms, this is due to the fact that the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation relative to the Sun takes on a maximum value.

In many cultures, this day has always been a significant event, always associated with rebirth. For example, in primitive culture, the beginning of the Solstice was not exactly a joyful day, it was more associated with the onset of hunger. Because primitive people did not really know how much stock they needed to prepare for times of cold weather. In the Early Middle Ages, this was a holiday, as beer and wine were mostly matured by mid-December.

Longest day of the year

The longest day of the year occurs on June 21 or 20. You have probably already noticed that it is light outside even at 23:00. True, then, as with the “winter”, daylight hours begin to slowly decrease, this becomes noticeable already in August.

In the modern world, the days of the winter and summer solstices are not a holiday, but a lot of traditions have survived to this day. For example, carols beloved by children were originally dedicated on December 20, only then they migrated to the post-Christmas weeks until Epiphany (January 19). In ancient Egypt, the priests attached great importance to the summer solstice. In Russia, the holiday is better known as Ivan Kupala Day, when the celebrants bathe, jump over bonfires, guess and look for fern branches (which, according to legend, bloom on this particular holiday).

It is difficult to observe the solstice due to the fact that the sun is slowly moving towards its point. Only very recently have scientists begun to determine the exact time of an event down to the instant.

In 2017, the winter solstice begins on December 21 at 19:28 Moscow time, when the Sun enters 0° Capricorn. According to signs, what the weather will be like today, it will be like this on December 31st.

Light day will last 6 hours 51 minutes, the night of December 22 - 17 hours 9 minutes. After that, astronomical spring will come in the Northern Hemisphere - daylight hours will begin to grow.

Solstice occurs twice a year - in summer and winter. This is an astronomical event - the Sun on this day is at the largest angular distance from the equator, and, accordingly, the height of its location is minimal for one hemisphere of the Earth and maximum for the other. This leads to phenomena such as the longest and shortest daylight hours of the year. The phenomenon got its name because of the location of the Sun in the sky - for several days at noon the luminary is at one constant height - it stands, hence the solstice. The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere usually falls on December 20, 21 or 22, which is the shortest day of the year.

This is the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice is one of the main solar points of the year in astrology, along with the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, and the summer solstice.

Celebration traditions:

Many peoples of the world associated the winter solstice with the coming rebirth, it was believed that the longest night was before dawn. On this occasion, holidays, rituals and other celebrations were held, for which special structures were often built - Stonehenge in Britain and Newgrange in Ireland are oriented along a visual line indicating the sunrise on the day of the winter solstice.

The ancient Slavs celebrated the pagan New Year on this day, better known as Kolyada, the Germanic peoples - Yule, the Romans until the 3rd century - Sol Invictus. From oak or pine, people kindled a ritual fire, which symbolized the rebirth of the Sun. The main decoration of the festive table was a loaf in the shape of the sun.

In Scotland, it was customary to launch a solar wheel - "solstice": a barrel was coated with burning tar and allowed down the street. The wheel symbolized the sun, its spokes resembled rays, and the rotation of the spokes during movement made the wheel look like a luminary.

In Christian churches that have switched to the Gregorian calendar, Christmas is celebrated these days. Orthodoxy uses the Julian calendar, according to which the date of Christmas coincided with the winter solstice two thousand years ago, but has now shifted half a month later.

Signs:

The winter solstice, also known as the winter solstice, is a very important and revered day for many cultures. There are many signs associated with this day.

The shortest day in 2018 - December 22, 2018, Saturday. And, accordingly, the longest night in 2018 is the night from December 22 to December 23.
On this day at 12:28 Moscow time is the December solstice (winter solstice).

The shortest day in 2018 is 7 hours, 20 seconds (7:00:20). In terms of daylight hours, the shortest December day in 2018 is shorter than the June solstice (Thursday, June 21, 2018) by 10 hours, 33 minutes.

Also, it will be interesting to know that:

• The earliest sunset in 2018 is December 14th.
• The latest sunrise in 2018 is December 29th.

All living organisms need and lack sunlight during the seasons when days are short and nights are long. Any cycle has critical points of changing the nature of the cycle. In the cycle of change in the length of daylight hours are the days of the equinox and the days of the solstice.

When does the phase of increasing daylight hours begin?

The phase of increasing daylight hours begins on the day of the winter solstice and ends on the day of the summer solstice. The intensity of the increase in daylight depends on the angle of declination of the Sun and the speed of its rotation. Practically, the day in the northern hemisphere begins to increase on December 24-25 by several minutes a day, then the intensity of the increase in day length increases.

In nature, such regular phenomena occur as the addition and decrease of daylight hours. The longest day is observed on June 22, then in the future it gradually decreases. Daylight hours are reduced until December 22, at this moment you can observe the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the future, the day begins to gradually win back its positions. It happens imperceptibly, the difference is in minutes. A more visible result can be observed in about a month. On March 20-21, the day almost corresponds to the night - the spring equinox. This process happens year after year, so 2018 is no exception.

At the end of June 2018, the days began to slowly decrease, and by December they will reach their minimum. In the most northern cities even the polar night will come. Everyone will look forward to the moment when the day begins to increase. This turning point will be the Winter Solstice, which falls on December 21-22. During it, the day is the shortest. And the very next day - December 23, 2018 - the day will become a few seconds longer. Here in this table, with the time of sunrise and sunset in St. Petersburg, you can clearly see how the length of the day will increase:

Magic of the winter solstice, rituals on this day

The winter solstice is one of the four major solar days in astrology, along with the summer solstice and the autumn and spring equinoxes.

In pagan times, the day before the winter solstice was called Karachun, which means "death" or "death". People believed that evil forces could make it so that the sun would not rise in the morning, so they helped him “to be born” in every possible way: even before dawn, they gathered and kindled ritual bonfires from oak and pine logs and brought gifts to the forest gods - they baked pies and prepared uzvars that brought to the forest. Bread or pies were placed on the branches of old trees, sweet drinks were poured on them - as an offering to the forest deities to send a good harvest. Perhaps this is where the custom of decorating the Christmas tree came from.

In the morning, when the sun rose, they celebrated its rebirth - in fact, the winter solstice was the pagan New Year. That night they also caroled, and the girls also guessed at the betrothed. Subsequently, with the adoption of Christianity, these classes were moved to the period of Christmas time.

When is the longest day and shortest night of the year, and how many days are there?

The longest day of the year in central Russia

The longest day in 2017 was June 21st. For several days, the days were just as long (17 hours 33 minutes), and from June 24 the days began to decrease.

When, from what date in the summer, daylight hours will begin to decrease?

If we take data for Moscow, then the longest day was 17 hours 33 minutes.

For Moscow, the days will decrease in the following sequence:

• By the end of June, the day had decreased by 6 minutes, and became 17 hours 27 minutes
• For July - for 1 hour 24 minutes, the duration of the day is 16 hours 3 minutes
• For August - for 2 hours 8 minutes, the day lasts 13 hours 51 minutes
• Until the day of the equinox (September 24), the day will decrease by 1 hour 45 minutes, the duration of the day is 12 hours 2 minutes

Surely each of you at least once, but it was interesting when is the shortest and longest day of the year. In fact, the answer to this question is very simple and has been known for a long time. By the way, this phenomenon even has its own name - the day of the solstice.

Solstice types

There are two types of solstice - summer and winter, in which the longest and shortest daylight hours are observed on the surface of the planet, respectively. As for the winter solstice, it occurs in the northern hemisphere of the Earth and occurs either on December 21 or 22 - the length of daylight hours is only 5 hours 53 minutes, after which it begins to grow. Accordingly, the longest night is observed on the same day. The summer solstice can be observed on one of three days - June 20, 21 or 22, it lasts 17 hours 33 minutes, after which the days begin to become shorter and the nights longer.

Solstice Traditions

Interestingly, different traditions are associated with both of these events. For example, in Russia, as well as in some other countries, a holiday called "Kalyada" was popular, dedicated to the shortest day of the year - it was traditionally timed to Christmas time and Christmas. It all started in her own home, where the eldest in the family baked bread, served kutia and porridge, pies, pretzels, animal figures from wheat dough. By the way, it was also customary for the latter to decorate the premises, to present them to neighbors and loved ones. Only the elders could talk at the table, while the younger ones could only listen and wait until they had the opportunity to get outside and start caroling - this is such a ritual of visiting houses, in which a group of participants sing well-wishing songs addressed to the owners of the houses, for which they were supposed to have a tasty meal. treat.

As for the summer solstice, even more interesting things are known about it. So, historians claim that even the ancient Egyptians knew about the longest day of the year, who built their huge pyramids in such a way that the sun would set neatly between the two of them (they say that this phenomenon can be seen if you look at the pyramids from the side of the Sphinx) .

About Stonehenge and the longest day

It is also customary to associate the famous Stonehenge, a British structure located 130 kilometers from London, with the summer solstice. They say that it was built just the same with an eye on the longest day of the year - only then the sun rises over the Hillstone stone, which is located separately from the main circle of stones.

Be that as it may, in the modern world, the days of the solstices do not have the importance that our ancestors attached to them. However, modern pagans consider them holidays and invariably celebrate them.