https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/winter-solstice.html. (Check out Weird But True! The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. As the seasons change we have you covered with fun facts about Winter Solstice for Kids. Yes—kind of. But the coldest temperatures are often still at least a month away, depending on where you live. The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun. But the good news is that every day after the winter solstice will be a little longer, until we reach the day with the most hours of daylight. A solstice means that one of the Earth’s poles (either the North or South) has its maximum tilt away from the sun. Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year. As our planet orbits, one pole is tilted toward the sun, and one pole is tilted away from it. During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted away from the sun, so the height of the arc is low—and your shadow looks long. During the solstice, the earth’s axis is tilted at its furthest point from the sun. Blow out the last remaining candle. Similar ancient structures can be seen in archaeological sites around the world, including Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Machu Picchu in Peru, and Petra in Jordan. Here’s why: Every day, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, tracing an arc across the sky. That’s because the seasons are reversed below the Equator. Then add a battery-operated tea light. ABCs & 123s The word solstice comes from the Latin words sol, which means sun, and sistere, which means to stand still. The winter solstice, also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. Today, Dec. 21 is the winter solstice. Discover the scientific reasons for this phenomenon and learn how cultures past and present have celebrated it. You can try our super simple paper cup luminaries or these Swedish Snowball Lanterns. TIP: Make sure you know where the match/lighter is so you can easily reach them in the dark. 4. If your child is old enough to use scissors, help her to create paper snowflakes by folding a square pieces of paper in half two or three times and cutting around the edges. Prunella celebrates Winter Solstice around December 21. At the solstice itself, however, the sun appears to stand still in the sky for a few days before and after. Because less sunlight reaches Earth, the winter solstice is also the day of the year with the least amount of daytime, known as the shortest day of the year. A tunnel facing the solstice sunrise runs to a main chamber, and a small window bathes the chamber in solstice light for 17 minutes. On the winter solstice, if you stand outside at noon and look at your shadow, it will be the longest shadow you cast the entire year. The Winter Solstice has been celebrated since ancient times by various people groups, and oftentimes, these celebrations are linked to a variety of religious practices. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere. (Readers in the south can find ideas to celebrate the summer solstice here.) What is the winter solstice and when does it occur? That’s because the Earth’s land and water takes time to cool down. The tradition of making luminaries and lanterns for the winter solstice can be very fun for kids to light up the dark day. Winter Solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of daylight here in the Northern Hemisphere. Now, on the Winter Solstice we’re in almost total darkness. This is reversed as the earth continues on its orbit until the axis becomes tilted away from the sun. (the other pole is closer to the Sun because of Eath’s tilted axis). Adapted for Nat Geo Kids by Christine Dell'Amore. When this axis leans towards the sun, it’s summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south. Ancient people built many monuments to celebrate the winter solstice. 4. That’s why the word solstice can be translated to "sun stands still' in Latin. On the solstice, some of these lines touch the spot on the horizon where the sun sets. This means that only half of the Earth is maximally distanced from the Sun. The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun. In between, there are two times when the tilt of the Earth is zero, meaning that the tilt is neither away from the Sun nor toward the Sun. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, while the winter solstice is the shortest. Prunella loves this time of year because everyone is so excited about the holidays. The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson + Jan Davey Ellis. In the Roman Empire, the Winte… Learn about winter solstice this year. 2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework, How To Make Slime with Best Slime Recipes. For people in the Northern Hemisphere (above the Equator, like the United States), winter is a season of cold, dark days—and if you’re lucky, lots of snow to sled on! Ancient geoglyph of a spider located in the Nazca Desert, Peru. Your email address will not be published. The phenomenon is caused when the Earth’s axis tilts the furthest away from the sun, giving less than 12 hours of daylight to all locations north of the equator. Winter solstice has been celebrated all over the world for thousands of years. For hundreds of years, many people believed that the changing seasons and fluctuating hours of sunlight were controlled by a group of deities known as sun gods. The winter solstice is the time when the sun has the biggest distance to the Tropic of Cancer. Observances of the winter solstice have had a unique history. Enjoy! Each year, meteorologists—people who study weather and climate—determine the first day of the winter season based on temperature records. One example is Newgrange, a huge tomb mound built in Ireland around 3200 B.C., about a thousand years before Stonehenge. It also heralds the beginning of winter. The equinoxes occur when the amount of daytime and nighttime in a particular day are approximately equal. One myth is that the winter solstice is the coldest day of the year. The Winter Solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year, as well as the official beginning of winter. Nov 17, 2017 - Explore the coming of winter and the return of light with simple winter solstice activities for kids and learn about winter solstice traditions you can try! The Shortest Day. In fact, during the days around the winter solstice, the sun is so low on the horizon that it appears to rise and set in the same place. 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