Wondering when the evenings will finally get longer again? Winter solstice will mark the shortest day of the year – so mark your calendars, people.
Though it doesn’t necessarily feel like it, it’s still technically considered autumn right now. It's not officially winter until we reach the winter solstice – which this year will fall on Friday 22 December. It's kind of cause for celebration, because it means that the days are going to start getting brighter again. Total music to our ears.
This ancient solar festival falls on the shortest day of the year, but there's more to it than a slow march towards summer al fresco. To our ancestors, this rebirth of the sun signalled the beginning of Yule, a cause for great celebration and feasting.
Take a look at the crowds gathering to watch the solstice sun rise or set at Stonehenge and you’ll see – not much has changed since. For modern pagans and witches, the winter solstice (one of the eight Wheel of the Year sabbat celebrations) is a potent and magical time for self-reflection, future visioning and intention setting. And if you fancy getting in on the action, it can be just that for you too.
So, ignore the pre-Christmas work stress, ditch your end of year woes and sink into a seasonal celebration that’s way less stressful and a whole lot more magical than the one currently taking up all your headspace. Celebrating the winter solstice can be as low-key or as extra as you like – simply pick the practice(s) or rituals that speak to you from the list below and use them to help you dream up a seriously next-level new year.
What is the winter solstice?
It's the time of the year when the Sun is lowest (or most southernmost) in the sky and furthest from the North Pole.
Because Earth is tilted on its axis, the arc that the Sun moves through rises and falls, so the Sun can appear higher and lower in the sky in different seasons.
What does ‘solstice’ mean?
It's actually is derived from the Latin word “solstitium”, which means “sun stands still” – this is because the Sun's path stops temporarily before changing direction and starting a new season.
When is the winter solstice? How long is the shortest day of the year?
Friday, 22 December will be the shortest day of the year in 2023. The exact time of the solstice is 3:27am. The shortest day lasts 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds in London. For context, this means that the length of the day during the winter solstice is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than the summer solstice.
Do the days get longer after the winter solstice?
Yes, praise be! From 22 December onwards, the days will gradually get longer, with the number of daylight hours peaking during the summer solstice. Both the spring and autumnal equinoxes – which are in March and September, respectively – are roughly the same length, as well.
When does winter start?
There's no one clear-cut answer, because while many view the winter solstice as marking the beginning of winter, meteorologists argue that it starts earlier in December.
But why not mark the start of winter with a solstice celebration, whatever date in December you choose?
How is the winter solstice celebrated?
Many congregate around stone circles in Britain and Ireland (such as Stonehenge) to commemorate the shortest day, while others burn yule logs for 12 hours to symbolise the hope for warmth and light to return (we feel this particularly).
Festivals are held all over the world to celebrate the winter solstice, from China and East Asia to Iran.
Create a winter solstice ritual:
Salute the sun
The simplest way to celebrate the winter solstice is to watch the sun rise or set. And definitely don’t stress if you failed to watch night turn to day this morning – many modern pagans believe the first sunrise after the official solstice holds the most potent magic.
Make it magical: Make a wish for 2024 as the sun falls below the horizon or write down your intentions for the coming months as night turns to day.
Let there be light
Winter solstice celebrations traditionally involve the lighting of bonfires to mark the return of the sun. Even if you don’t have the time or space for a fire-pit, there are plenty of other ways you can bring the light in. String fairylights over every available surface, dig out some leftover Bonfire Night sparklers or light all your candles at once.
Make it magical: Write down everything you want to leave behind in this year on a piece of paper and burn it (safely!) to ash in the flames.
Eat a feast
What’s a celebration without a decadent seasonal spread? An easy way to celebrate the solstice is to gather friends together to devour a feast. Think next-level party platters, gingerbread bake-offs, seasonal canapés and any beverage – as long as it’s mulled.
Make it magical: Stir your intentions for 2024 into your mulled wine three times clockwise.
Create something beautiful
Evergreen wreaths and Yule logs (the foraged in nature kind… not the chocolate ones!) have long been part of winter solstice and Yule celebrations. In fact, that Christmas tree you covered in tinsel the other weekend is a total pagan throwback! Creating something magical using foraged branches and leaves makes an ideal winter solstice celebration, so book in for a wreath making workshop, DIY it with a log and some foliage or order one of those tiny letterbox Christmas trees.
Make it magical: Hide written wishes for the New Year in your door wreath or add candles to a Yule log centrepiece and make a wish every time you blow them out.
Be the oracle
The dark of the winter solstice is an ideal time for rest, reflection and deciding what you want to manifest in the New Year. Take your winter solstice celebrations to relaxing new heights and ignore all of the above in favour of the ultimate night in. Take a candlelit bath, spend time journaling about your future and pay attention to any revelations found in your dreams on solstice night.
Make it magical: Invest in a deck of tarot or oracle cards and do a DIY solstice reading.
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