The start of winter, the winter solstice, is the shortest day of the year, when the Sun reaches its most southern point in the sky at local noon. After this date, the days start getting longer.
Winter inspires both joy and woe. Some people can't wait for the cooler weather, snow, skiing and ice skating, curling up by a fire, and the holiday spirit. Other people dislike the frigid temperatures, blizzards, and wild weather.
The word solstice comes from the Latin words "sun" and "to stop", due to the fact that the Sun seems to stop in the sky. The Sun is directly overhead at "high-noon" on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn. In the Northern Hemisphere, the solstice days are the days with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year.
The winter solstice has historically been a day for celebration. This tradition started with an ancient fear that the fading light would never return unless humans kept watch and had a huge celebration.
