First Day Of Winter: When Is Winter Solstice 2023?
The First Day of Winter and longest night of the year, the 2023 Winter Solstice, occurs on Thursday, December 21, 2023, at 10:27 P.M. EST.
When Is The Winter Solstice?
The Winter Solstice can occur on December 20, 21, 22, or 23, depending on calendar events such as leap year and when the Solstice begins relative to Coordinated Universal Time.
What is Winter Solstice 2023?
The Winter Solstice, as pictured in the above NASA image, is caused by a tilt of the earth’s rotating axis and marks the first day of winter. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere.
According to NASA, it is not the Sun that is moving north or south through the seasons, but a change in the orientation and angles between the Earth and its nearest star.
The axis of the Earth has tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the Sun and the ecliptic plane. The axis is tilted away from the Sun at the December solstice and toward the Sun at the June solstice, spreading more and less light on each hemisphere. At the equinoxes, the tilt is at a right angle to the Sun and the light is spread evenly.
How can it be called the First Day of Winter 2023 and Mid-Winter at the same time?
Although the December Solstice marks the beginning of Northern Winter, it is often called Mid-Winter. The difference lies in the definitions created by culture, agriculture, and astronomy.
According to astronomers, December 21st marks the beginning of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
The official start and end of Winter can vary by country – not because Winter starts a week or so earlier in one country than another in the same hemisphere, but because the recognition of the start of Winter is often influenced by historical or cultural reasons particular to that country.
Most countries recognize Winter as starting on dates ranging in November and ending sometime in March.
