December solstice

The December solstice, also known as the southern solstice, is the solstice that occurs each December – typically on 21 December, but may vary by one day in either direction according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice is the winter solstice (the day with the shortest period of daylight), whilst in the Southern Hemisphere it is the summer solstice (the day with the longest period of daylight).

UT date and time of
equinoxes and solstices on Earth[1][2]
event equinox solstice equinox solstice
month March[3] June[4] September[5] December[6]
year daytime daytime daytime daytime
2018 2016:152110:072301:542122:22
2019 2021:582115:542307:502204:19
2020 2003:502021:432213:312110:03
2021 2009:372103:322219:212115:59
2022 2015:332109:142301:042121:48
2023 2021:252114:582306:502203:28
2024 2003:072020:512212:442109:20
2025 2009:022102:422218:202115:03
2026 2014:462108:252300:062120:50
2027 2020:252114:112306:022202:43
2028 2002:172020:022211:452108:20
Illumination of Earth by the Sun on the day of the December solstice

The solstice also marks the changing of seasons in many countries. 21 December is the first day of winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the first day of summer (in the Southern Hemisphere).

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article December solstice, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.