When Is the Winter Solstice?

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Sunday, December 21, 2025, at 10:03 A.M. (EST). Use our Time Zone Converter to calculate what time that is where you live.

For the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs every year on December 21 or 22. (The Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice occurs in June.)

The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight throughout the year, making it the “shortest day” of the year. Thankfully, after we reach the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and longer again until we reach the summer solstice—the first day of summer and the longest day of the year.

Think of it this way: Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of more sunlight. It only gets brighter from here!

What Is the Winter Solstice?

The winter solstice marks the official beginning of astronomical winter (as opposed to meteorological winter, which starts about 3 weeks before the solstice). It occurs once a year in each hemisphere: once in the Northern Hemisphere (in December) and once in the Southern Hemisphere (in June). It marks the start of each hemisphere’s winter season. When one hemisphere is experiencing its winter solstice, the other is simultaneously experiencing its summer solstice!

This is all thanks to Earth’s tilted axis, which means that at the solstice, half of Earth is pointed away from the Sun, and the other half is pointed towards it.

We often think of the winter solstice as an event that spans an entire calendar day, but the solstice actually lasts only a moment. Specifically, it’s the exact moment when a hemisphere is tilted as far away from the Sun as possible.

The winter solstice is significant across various cultures, signaling the changing of the seasons. Some ancient peoples even marked the solstice using huge stone structures, like Newgrange in Ireland.

In some cultures, the solstice traditionally marked the midway point of the season rather than the start of it, which explains why holidays such as Midsummer Day are celebrated around the first day of summer.

What Happens on the Winter Solstice?

On the day of the winter solstice, we are tilted as far away from the Sun as possible, which means that the Sun’s path across the sky is as low in the sky as it can be. Think about the daily path of the Sun: It rises in the east and sets in the west, arcing across the sky overhead. During the summer, the Sun arcs high in the sky, but during the winter, it arcs lower, closer to the horizon.

How can we observe the effects of solstice ourselves? On the solstice day, stand outside at noon and look at your shadow. It’s the longest shadow that you’ll cast all year! Do this again on the day of the summer solstice, and you’ll see almost no shadow.

To read more of Catherine Boeckmann’s Article, When is the Winter Solstice, and what is it all about? Please click here.