What date will the day increase. Winter solstice. Now the nights are getting shorter and the days are getting longer

WINTER SOLSTICE

On the winter solstice, the sun rises to its lowest point on the horizon. Every year, the winter solstice falls between December 21st and 22nd. On the day of the winter solstice, the shortest day and the most long night in a year. Now the nights are getting shorter and the days longer.

December 22, 2011 at 09:30 according to Moscow time, the Sun will descend as much as possible into the southern hemisphere of the sky, that is, moving along the ecliptic, it will reach its lowest declination - 23 degrees 26.457 minutes (in the constellation Sagittarius) and astronomical winter will come. On December 22, the Sun begins to rise up the ecliptic, beginning its journey to the vernal equinox when it crosses the celestial equator.

Solstice - Birthday of the Sun

solstice- the ancient Russian name for the day of the solstice. Corresponded to the moment of the Sun's turn for profit or loss of the day. In Rus' and in many European countries, the day winter solstice celebrated as the celebration of the birth of the sun.

Almost all European peoples held sacred mysteries on this day: a symbolic spectacle of the death and rebirth of the Sun was played out. Light conquers Darkness. Let the miracle be invisible for now, but we know that it happened, and this is a harbinger of that great miracle, the miracle of the Transfiguration, which our world is waiting for: the final victory of good over evil, the complete triumph of Light.

And among the Slavs and other peoples of Europe, the winter solstice marked the beginning of a new life and the renewal of nature. Children and adults jumped over the fire, danced round dances, the boys competed in strength and ingenuity. Daylight is increasing, which means that spring is just around the corner.

At this time, the ancient Slavs celebrated a multi-day winter holiday - Christmas time. It began in the last days of December and ended in the first days of January (approximately from December 25 to January 6). Christmas time was accompanied magical rites, on the eve of Christmas, carols were sung, mummers walked around the villages, in every house they arranged festive feasts, the girls guessed at the betrothed.

In the 16th century in Rus', the winter solstice was associated special rite. The bell warden of the Moscow Cathedral, who was responsible for the chiming of the clock, came to bow to the tsar. He reported that from now on the sun turned to summer, the day is added, and the night is reduced. For this good news, the king rewarded the headman with money.

In Europe, the days of Christmas celebrations coincided with the twelve-day cycle of pagan festivities dedicated to the winter solstice, which marked the beginning of a new life and the renewal of nature. That is why in different countries the feast of Christmas was filled ancient rites and folk beliefs . These include carols - costumed processions with a star and chants, which are still held in countryside, an evening meal on Christmas Eve, consisting of 12 Lenten dishes. In the ritual meal of this day, it was customary to leave food for the deceased family members. What if it's Christmas happy man enters the house first, then the whole year happiness will not leave its walls.

On the day of the winter solstice in Scotland, it was customary to launch the Christmas sun wheel - "Solstice" - a barrel was coated with burning tar and let down the street. The wheel is a symbol of the Sun, the spokes of the wheel resembled the rays of the star, the rotation of the spokes during movement made the wheel alive and similar to its solar prototype.

Over the past millennia, the spirits and gods have been replaced by other prophets, the now considered pagan religions were replaced by Christianity and Islam, which tried to adapt their holidays to the beliefs of the newly converted flock. However, the deep meaning of the holidays has not changed: the gods are still born in winter and resurrect in spring, so that after summer solstice slowly fade into darkness, and then be reborn again.

Kolyada - Sunny Christmas

On December 25, our ancestors celebrated the Christmas of God Kolyada. The nascent Sun appears in the form of a child. The baby is the disc of the Sun, called Kolo since ancient times. The baby Kolyada is captured by the witch Winter and turns him into a wolf cub. When they remove the wolf skin from Kolyada and burn it on a spring fire, Kolyada will appear in all its glory. And the Sun is sent south on a cart to meet spring.

“Once upon a time, Kolyada was perceived not as a mummer. Kolyada was a deity, and one of the most influential. They called the carol, called. New Year's Eve was dedicated to Kolyada, games were arranged in her honor, which were subsequently performed at Christmas time. The last patriarchal ban on worshiping Kolyada was issued on December 24, 1684. It is believed that Kolyada was recognized by the Slavs as the deity of fun, which is why he was called upon, cheerful gangs of youth called on New Year's festivities "(A. Strizhev " folk calendar»)

The day "for sparrows" has arrived and the winter sun begins to flare up, the Slavs celebrate Kolyada. On the eve of the New Year, the children were going to carol under the windows of rich peasants, called the owner in songs, repeated the name of Kolyada and asked for money. Sacred games and divination are the remnants of this feast of the ancients. The rites were preserved among the people, and in recent times are becoming more and more popular. "Carolers" dress up in clothes, depict animals, devils, with music, with sacks in which they collect treats, walk the streets, sing carols. Kolyada is a cheerful, desired deity.

Tur is commemorated at the feast by eating ritual cookies in the form of cows (loaf, bagels). Instead of a sacrificial lamb, they eat cookies in the form of a lamb's head (bagel, pretzel). You should definitely try uzvar and kutya. The holiday ends with games. Be sure to roll the burning wheel uphill with the words: "Roll uphill, come back with spring".

Shoryk Yol

Shoryk Yol- traditional New Year's celebration Mari people. It ends the old and begins the new year. In the past, the people associated with him the future well-being of their household and family, changes in life.

The name Shoryk Yol - "sheep's leg" comes from the holidays magical action - pulling the sheep's legs in order to "call" a large offspring of sheep in the new year. . In the past, early in the morning, householders built piles of snow in the winter field in the form of haystacks in order to get required amount stack of bread. Branches of fruit trees and shrubs were shaking in the garden, hoping to collect a rich harvest of fruits and berries. Pulling the sheep's legs was supposed to ensure the fertility of the sheep. Fortune-telling was associated with the prediction of fate, the well-being of the household. The weather was used to judge what spring and summer would be like. Family prayers were held in every house in honor of the holiday of Shorykyol and the "owner" of the kudort house.

On the first day, children and girls walked around the yards, they congratulated the householders on the advent of the New Year and wished a prosperous family and economic life, the offspring of sheep. In the evening, a group of mummers led by the old man Vasily and his old woman - Vasli kuva-kugyza - harbingers of the future, went home. The mummers made a check economic activity, negligent owners scolded.

Surhiri

Surhiri Chuvash holiday in the middle of winter. The word surkhuri itself also means "sheep's leg".

This is a holiday of youth, a holiday of boys and girls, it consists of continuous amusements, pranks and jokes. The very name of the holiday comes from a comic fortune-telling rite.

In connection with Surkhuri, there are a number of customs - various fortune-telling among the young, which are all held on the first evening of the holiday. The most significant of the rites, from which the holiday got its name, is "catching a sheep's leg" (surkhuri tytma). Boys and girls leave the house in turn and go to the barn. There, in the darkness, they catch the first sheep that comes across by touch, hold it by the leg with one hand, and pluck a tuft of wool from it with the other and bring it into the hut. And then they guess. Whoever catches the leg of a white sheep will have a fair-haired husband or wife. And who caught the leg of a black sheep - dark-haired.

dongzhijie

dongzhijie- Chinese Holiday winter solstice. AT ancient China it was believed that from that time on the “male force” of nature rose, and a new cycle began. Therefore, the day of the winter solstice was considered a happy day. Dongzhijie is a celebration of optimism and faith in spring.

On this day, emperors went out of town to perform solemn rituals of sacrifice to Heaven, and ordinary people made sacrifices to their ancestors.

In some regions of Northern China, on the day of the Winter Solstice, soup with ears is eaten, in other regions - dumplings, because there is such a belief: having tasted dumplings on this day, a person may not be afraid of frost. From rice flour they knead the dough, mold figures of turtles, pigs, cows, sheep and other animals from it, symbolizing happiness.

Yule

The ancient Scandinavians also celebrated New Year on the winter solstice on December 22. Yule- Celtic Holiday resurrection of the sun. The word Yule means rotation, torsion, wheel, turn.

Yule marks the point in the year when the sun returns, so sorcerers light candles and bonfires, inviting the sunlight back. On this day, it is customary to leave the lights on in the house or, according to at least, a candle on the altar.

The house is always decorated with branches of evergreen trees. This symbolizes the eternity of life, and the protection of the inhabitants of the house is also attributed to this tradition. Yule's indispensable attribute is the sacred Yule Log. The log is intertwined with scarlet and green ribbons. The sacred log is lit first and part gala dinner is prepared either on it or after it burns. Now the Yule Log is an attribute of the altar, it is decorated with candles and Yule is celebrated in their light. But even if the log burns in the hearth, a small piece of it will always be preserved: this the best amulet and protection of the whole house for the next year. The main attribute of the holiday is the Yule wreath. It is made from spruce branches in the shape of a circle. This is a symbol of the fact that everything in the world is cyclical: death and birth. A wreath means that everything in the world replaces each other, something dies, and something is born.

Yule - the days of the great feast and holiday, in which all members of the clan gathered together in order to meet the Sun again, which had risen from darkness, and to see the reborn world. The Yule celebration reminds people that each of us somehow participates in all the processes taking place in the universe without exception.

Christmas tree

Even the Romans began to bring evergreen trees into the house on the winter solstice and decorate them. There is a version that a Christmas tree decorated with apples and nuts symbolizes the "tree of paradise" (although in early Christianity, the custom of making and decorating a tree, to put it mildly, was not encouraged, and even banned in Europe, but was subsequently adopted).

Such a tree also symbolizes life and survival, especially in a cold climate, when all other trees stand naked and sleepy, it symbolizes fertility and immortality. Other symbols winter holidays- mistletoe, which not only retains green leaves in winter, but also grows without touching the ground, and holly (holly), ivy. The holly is also decorated with red berries in winter, and mistletoe with white ones.

You can decorate Yolochka with cinnamon sticks and dried flowers (for example, roses), you can use cranberries and dried corn cobs, bags of fragrant herbs, apples, nuts, oranges, lemons. The old Soviet ones will come in handy here. Christmas decorations in the form of fruits, fruits and vegetables, nuts and acorns. Wiccans hang letters with their desires on Yolochka.

Tinsel and toys can also be correlated with the images of the moon, the sun and the stars of heaven. "Rain" - as a symbol of rain - will be a symbol of fertility. Cones and acorns (symbols of oak) will also be appropriate. Shiny glass beads during the winter solstice capture the light of the newborn sun and send it back, acting as a magical tool to increase the energy of the sun. This idea was fully developed when a geometrically regular recess was made in a simple glass ball, allowing it to capture and reflect light, whether it be soft, warm candlelight or pure White light reborn winter sun.

Twice a year, on the days of the autumn (September 22-23) and spring (March 20-21) equinoxes, the Earth rotates towards the Sun in such a way that Sun rays fall steeply towards the equator. And then all over the globe - at the poles and at the equator, in temperate latitudes and in the tropics - the length of day and night becomes the same. It is curious that in Latin this event is called aequinoctium”, which translates as “equinox”. In this sense, Germans using the word " Tagundnachtgleiche” (“equality of day and night”) turned out to be more logical.

Autumn in the northern hemisphere. Artens | Shutterstock.com

In a day autumn equinox The sun crosses the equator and goes to the southern half of the celestial sphere. From this moment on, astronomical autumn begins in the entire northern hemisphere of the Earth, and darkness takes more and more minutes from light every day! The shortest day of the year, which falls on December 21 or 22, marks the beginning of astronomical winter. After that, daylight hours gradually increase and by the beginning of the third decade of March it becomes equal to night. In a day spring equinox autumn is coming again on our planet, only this time in the southern hemisphere...

Yellowed leaves. Calin Stan | Shutterstock.com

An interesting fact is that autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere are a week shorter than autumn-winter season in the southern hemisphere. Since the number of days from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox is 186, and the time interval from the autumn to the spring equinox is only 179 days! The fact is that in the winter of the northern hemisphere, the Earth moves around the heavenly body somewhat faster than in winter southern hemisphere. Indeed, in January, the globe passes the closest point of the orbit to the Sun - perihelion. And in perihelion, as you know, the linear velocity of the planet increases! Therefore, we, the inhabitants of the northern latitudes, are in a more favorable position than the inhabitants of the southern latitudes, whose dark and cold season is longer by as much as 7 days!

Spring is coming to Australia. Bui Viet Hung | Shutterstock.com

However, the moment is approaching when we are forced to pass the baton of spring and summer to the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere. This will happen tomorrow. Until then let's enjoy last hours outgoing astronomical summer, especially since the weather is conducive to this!

Twice a year, on the days of the autumn (September 22-23) and spring (March 20-21) equinoxes, the Earth turns towards the Sun in such a way that the sun's rays fall vertically on the equator. And then all over the globe - at the poles and at the equator, in temperate latitudes and in the tropics - the length of day and night becomes the same. It is curious that in Latin this event is called " aequinoctium”, which translates as “equinox”. In this sense, Germans using the word " Tagundnachtgleiche” (“equality of day and night”) turned out to be more logical.

Autumn in the northern hemisphere. Artens | Shutterstock.com

On the day of the autumnal equinox, the Sun crosses the equator and moves into the southern half of the celestial sphere. From this moment on, astronomical autumn begins in the entire northern hemisphere of the Earth, and darkness takes more and more minutes from light every day! The shortest day of the year, which falls on December 21 or 22, marks the beginning of astronomical winter. After that, daylight hours gradually increase and by the beginning of the third decade of March it becomes equal to night. On the day of the vernal equinox, autumn comes again on our planet, only this time in the southern hemisphere...

Yellowed leaves. Calin Stan | Shutterstock.com

An interesting fact is that autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere is a week shorter than the autumn-winter season in the southern hemisphere. Since the number of days from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox is 186, and the time interval from the autumn to the spring equinox is only 179 days! The fact is that in the winter of the northern hemisphere, the Earth moves around the heavenly body somewhat faster than in the winter of the southern hemisphere. Indeed, in January, the globe passes the closest point of the orbit to the Sun - perihelion. And in perihelion, as you know, the linear velocity of the planet increases! Therefore, we, the inhabitants of the northern latitudes, are in a more favorable position than the inhabitants of the southern latitudes, whose dark and cold season is longer by as much as 7 days!

Spring is coming to Australia. Bui Viet Hung | Shutterstock.com

However, the moment is approaching when we are forced to pass the baton of spring and summer to the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere. This will happen tomorrow. In the meantime, let's enjoy the last hours of the outgoing astronomical summer, especially since the weather is conducive to this!