Happy winter solstice! Dec 21, 2024

Happy winter solstice!

The winter solstice is here. Today marks the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere, while last night was the longest night of the year. This has been an important event for millennia, with evidence of celebrations going back as far as 10,000 BCE. Some of the world"s most famous Stone Age monuments, including Stonehenge, are aligned with the point that the sun rises or sets on the winter solstice. Traditionally, it was a time for feasting and lighting of fires to symbolize the darkest day of the year. Ancient Germanic tribes celebrated the winter solstice by bringing evergreens into their homes as a symbol of the returning light and the coming spring.

© Christian Back/eStock Photo

palette

Today in History

Dec 21, 2018Paper lanterns on the longest night
Dec 21, 2019Seventeen arches at sunset
Dec 21, 2020Shadows on the solstice
Dec 21, 2021Winter solstice
Dec 21, 2022Winter solstice
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 16, 2018Mexico celebrates its Independence Day
Nov 10, 202547 years of Badlands National Park
Jul 24, 2023Cousins Day
Oct 27, 2021Pumpkin patch
Sep 20, 2022Sea Otter Awareness Week
Aug 23, 2019Harvest time in the Palouse
Jul 4, 2023Happy Independence Day!
Sep 11, 2020In honor of those we ve lost
Jun 17, 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
Mar 5, 2019Stompin’ with the Big Chief
Jun 24, 2024Kelimutu, Flores, Indonesia
Jul 12, 2020A day to take a moment
Jun 12, 2023Big Bend National Parks birthday
Dec 3, 2018Computer science on the page
Aug 14, 2018Combating extinction with citizen science
Nov 27, 2018The fantastic winter fox
Jan 26, 2019Visiting a Maratha fortress
May 1, 2018The Sky Over Nine Columns in Venice, Italy
Sep 24, 2019With leaves this tasty, who cares about a view?
Oct 8, 2024World Octopus Day
Jan 3, 2025Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!
Jan 5, 2024International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, Harbin, China
May 27, 2022Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
May 10, 2022Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Apr 6, 2018It’s National Walk to Work Day
Jan 3, 2020 Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
Sep 2, 2019Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera
Sep 25, 2025Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India
Jun 29, 2022International Day of the Tropics
Aug 9, 2019In the Supertree Grove