by Keya Gupta

This time of the year, the days are short and the night falls sooner. Winter Solstice reminds us that while it is cooler and darker right now, warmer and lighter days are ahead. Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year. It has the latest sunrise of the year and earliest sunset, after which the sun starts to slowly rise earlier and set later, bit by bit. It usually falls on the 20th or 21st of December, falling on the 21st this year.  

Despite what you might think, this is caused not by how far away we are from the sun, but due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis! The Earth does not orbit upright, and its axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees, causing the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to switch places in receiving the sun’s light directly. In the Northern Hemisphere, as we tilt away from the Sun, we experience winter, which causes the nights to grow longer too. In the Southern Hemisphere, as the Earth leans towards the sun now, the seasons are flipped, and 21st December is Summer Solstice there. Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere falls around 21st June, which is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere! 

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In Indian astrology, Winter Solstice is the point at which the sun ends its southward movement (dakshinayan) and begins its movement north (uttarayan). While we know that the Sun does not move, rather, the Earth moves around it, if you observe the sunrise and the movement of the sun every day, you will slowly watch it move northward. This is traditionally a time of renewal and celebration, and many cultures all over the world celebrate festivals around this time. As the days grow longer henceforth, the Solstice represents the triumph of light over darkness and is often associated with themes of rebirth, renewal, and hope.  

In many parts of India, the Winter Solstice finds its echo in the celebrations of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, and Pongal, which together signal the end of the year and the beginning of a gentle sun. While Winter Solstice itself falls around 21st December, these festivals arrive a few weeks later. Lohri, celebrated in northern India, especially Punjab, is both a harvest festival and a way of welcoming the lengthening of days after the Solstice. It is traditionally believed to mark the longest night of the year, even though it falls in mid-January, reminding us that cultural calendars sometimes follow the rhythm of agriculture and community memory more than strict astronomical timing. Around the same time, Makar Sankranti and Pongal mark the harvest in other parts of India and celebrate the Sun’s northward journey, Uttarayan. While each region has its own customs; kite-flying in Gujarat and parts of North India, sweet til-gud in Maharashtra, and freshly harvested rice in Pongal offerings in Tamil Nadu, there is a shared sense of standing at a turning point and leaving behind the long, dark nights.  

Indian myths also recognise the importance of Winter Solstice. In the Mahabharata, Bheeshma was granted the boon of choosing the moment of his death. After being defeated, he lay on a bed of arrows for 58 days, waiting until Makar Sankranti, when the Sun began its northward journey or Uttarayan before finally giving up his body, believing that passing away during Uttarayan can lead to liberation, or moksha. Another story linked to Makar Sankranti tells of Surya, the Sun God, and his son Shani, or Saturn, the Lord of the sign Capricorn. Their relationship is strained in many tellings of the myth, but this is the time of year when Surya visits Shani in his own sign, and that visit becomes a symbol of reconciliation, forgiveness, and mending of family bonds. Just as the Sun appears to move northward and days slowly lengthen, these tales suggest that relationships, too, can move from cold distance towards warmth and understanding. 

Winter Solstice may bring the longest night, but it is also the point from which the days slowly begin to grow, almost too gradually to notice at first. As the sun lingers a little longer each day, this time of year becomes a reminder that change often begins in small, steady steps, and that light has already started to return long before we can fully see it. 

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