What is "winter solstice"

Winter \Win"ter\, n. [AS. winter; akin to OFries. & D. winter, OS. & OHG. wintar, G. winter, D. & Sw. vinter, Icel. vetr, Goth. wintrus; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic vindo- white (in comp.), OIr. find white. ????.]

1. The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year. ``Of thirty winter he was old.''
   --Chaucer.

   And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold.
   --Shak.

   Winter lingering chills the lap of May.
   --Goldsmith.

   Note: North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see Season). Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st.

2. The period of decay, old age, death, or the like. Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. --Wordsworth. Winter apple, an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. Winter barley, a kind of barley that is sown in autumn. Winter berry (Bot.), the name of several American shrubs ( Ilex verticillata, Ilex l[ae]vigata, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter. Winter bloom. (Bot.)

   1. A plant of the genus Azalea.

   2. A plant of the genus Hamamelis ( Hamamelis Viginica); witch-hazel; -- so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling. Winter bud (Zo["o]l.), a statoblast. Winter cherry (Bot.), a plant ( Physalis Alkekengi) of the Nightshade family, which has, a red berry inclosed in the inflated and persistent calyx. See Alkekengi. Winter cough (Med.), a form of chronic bronchitis marked by a cough recurring each winter. Winter cress (Bot.), a yellow-flowered cruciferous plant ( Barbarea vulgaris). Winter crop, a crop which will bear the winter, or which may be converted into fodder during the winter. Winter duck. (Zo["o]l.)

      1. The pintail.

      2. The old squaw.

         Winter egg (Zo["o]l.), an egg produced in the autumn by many invertebrates, and destined to survive the winter. Such eggs usually differ from the summer eggs in having a thicker shell, and often in being enveloped in a protective case. They sometimes develop in a manner different from that of the summer eggs.

         Winter fallow, ground that is fallowed in winter.

         Winter fat. (Bot.) Same as White sage, under White.

         Winter fever (Med.), pneumonia. [Colloq.]

         Winter flounder. (Zo["o]l.) See the Note under Flounder.

         Winter gull (Zo["o]l.), the common European gull; -- called also winter mew. [Prov. Eng.]

         Winter itch. (Med.) See Prarie itch, under Prairie.

         Winter lodge, or Winter lodgment. (Bot.) Same as Hibernaculum.

         Winter mew. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Winter gull, above. [Prov. Eng.]

         Winter moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of geometrid moths which come forth in winter, as the European species ( Cheimatobia brumata). These moths have rudimentary mouth organs, and eat no food in the imago state. The female of some of the species is wingless.

         Winter oil, oil prepared so as not to solidify in moderately cold weather.

         Winter pear, a kind of pear that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter.

         Winter quarters, the quarters of troops during the winter; a winter residence or station.

         Winter rye, a kind of rye that is sown in autumn.

         Winter shad (Zo["o]l.), the gizzard shad.

         Winter sheldrake (Zo["o]l.), the goosander. [Local, U. S.]

         Winter sleep (Zo["o]l.), hibernation.

         Winter snipe (Zo["o]l.), the dunlin.

         Winter solstice. (Astron.) See Solstice, 2.

         Winter teal (Zo["o]l.), the green-winged teal.

         Winter wagtail (Zo["o]l.), the gray wagtail ( Motacilla melanope). [Prov. Eng.]

         Winter wheat, wheat sown in autumn, which lives during the winter, and ripens in the following summer.

         Winter wren (Zo["o]l.), a small American wren ( Troglodytes hiemalis) closely resembling the common wren.

n. (context astronomy English) The moment when the Earth is in that point of its orbit where the northern or southern hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun.

n. December 22, when the sun is at its southernmost point [ant: summer solstice]

Winter Solstice was a Christian metalcore band from Lynchburg, Virginia signed to Metal Blade Records. They split up in 2006. Some of the former members have come together with members of Everything Falls Together and to form a new band, Ghost of a Fallen Age. Former frontman Matt Tarpey was a member of the Virginia Beach, Virginia metalcore band We Were Gentlemen until their breakup in 2010.

Winter Solstice is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Josh Sternfeld. The screenplay focuses on the efforts of a man to interact with and relate to his sons in the years following the accidental death of his wife.

Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

• December solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
• June solstice in the Southern Hemisphere

Winter solstice may also refer to:

• Winter Solstice (band), an American Christian metalcore band, active 2000–06
• Winter Solstice: North (album), a 1999 album by British experimental music group Coil
• Winter Solstice, a 2000 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher
  • Winter Solstice, a two-part German-produced TV film from 2003 based on the novel, with Sinéad Cusack, Peter Ustinov, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean Simmons and Maureen Lipman
• Winter Solstice (film), 2004 American film with Anthony LaPaglia

Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere this is the June solstice.

The axial tilt of Earth and gyroscopic effects of its daily rotation mean that the two opposite points in the sky to which the Earth's axis of rotation points ( axial precession) change very slowly (making a complete circle approximately every 26,000 years). As the Earth follows its orbit around the Sun, the polar hemisphere that faced away from the Sun, experiencing winter, will, in half a year, face towards the Sun and experience summer. This is because the two hemispheres face opposite directions along Earth's axis, and so as one polar hemisphere experiences winter, the other experiences summer.

More evident from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest. The winter solstice itself lasts only a moment in time, so other terms are used for the day on which it occurs, such as "midwinter", or the "shortest day". It is often considered the "extreme of winter" ( Dongzhi in the Chinese calendar). In meteorology, winter in the Northern Hemisphere spans the entire period of December through February. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates differ from winter solstice, however, and these depend on latitude, due to the variation in the solar day throughout the year caused by the Earth's elliptical orbit (see earliest and latest sunrise and sunset).

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied across cultures, but many have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.