Winter officially begins – The longest night of the year

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The evening of the solstice, the first of winter, as well as the immediately following ones will be the longest of the year in duration

Her evening Wednesday, December 21, at 23:48 Greek time, the Sun will be at the winter solstice, so this year’s winter will typically begin in Greece and in general in the northern hemisphere. Once again the winter solstice will almost coincide with the peak of the last shower of the year, the Arctic.

His evening solstice, the first winter, as well as the next ones will be the longest of the year in duration. Conversely, in the southern hemisphere summer will begin, with the length of the day at its peak.

When the Sun passes the winter solstice, it again begins to climb higher and higher in the sky, causing the day to regain lost “ground”, until at the vernal equinox light and dark are again almost equal duration.

The winter solstice does not always “fall” on the same date, but ranges between December 20th and 23rd, with more likely dates on 21st and 22nd. These daily fluctuations are due to Gregorian Calendar.

The winter solstice no longer occurs on December 25, as in the time of Christ, but a little earlier, because the older Julian Calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar from 44 BC, has been replaced. and which had established the winter solstice on December 25, but lost one day every 128 years. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar, named after him (Gregorian) and which loses only one day in 4,000 years.

The Sun was worshiped by the ancients as a god, and almost all ancient peoples established various festivals in his honor, from the Scandinavians and Iranians to the Mayans and Incas. Almost everywhere, the biggest celebrations took place at the time of the winter solstice, which was considered the celebration of the birth of the Sun, which also marked the beginning of the new year. Prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge in Britain are believed to have been concerned with recording the movements of the Sun across the sky.

Of central importance to the Romans was the feast of the “invincible Sun” on December 25, when it was celebrated that the Sun it began to rise again in the sky and thus the days grew longer. The early Christians in Rome, who were hiding in their catacombs, decided to celebrate the birth of Christ on the same date, December 25, when the Romans were busy with their own Saturnalia celebrations.

Arctic foxes

On the evenings of December 21st and 22nd, the relatively small shower of falling Arctic stars, which are the last “shooting stars” of the year, will peak. The Arctic foxeswhich occur between December 17-25 and produce five to ten meteors per hour, originate from the dust left behind by Comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790.

The destroyers seem to come from the direction of the Ursa Minor constellation, hence their name. Since there will be a New Moon on December 23rd, the sky will be dark enough for good viewing.

RES-EMP

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