The winter solstice, the longest night of the year, falls on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. The day holds value in a lot of ancient traditions.
Dong Zhi, the “arrival of winter", is a Chinese festival. It is thought to have started as an end-of-harvest festival, with workers returning from the fields and enjoying the fruits of their labours with family.
St. Lucia’s Day is a festival of lights celebrated in Scandinavia. Although it is now meant to honour St. Lucia, a Christian martyr, it has been incorporated with earlier Norse solstice traditions of lighting fires to ward off spirits during the longest night.
The ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia was once celebrated at the end of the planting season. There were games and feasts and gift-giving for several days, and social order was changed as slaves did not work on this day and were treated as equals.
This festival is celebrated in Peru, in June instead of December, but for Peru, it is the winter solstice in June. This Incan celebration is in honour of the Sun god. It is celebrated by mock sacrifices of animals, which was a traditional way of celebrating the festival by the Inca.
The Persian festival Yalda, or Shab-e Yalda, marks the last day of the Persian month of Azar. Yalda is viewed as the victory of light over dark, and the birthday of the Sun god Mithra. Families celebrate together with special foods and some stay awake all night long to welcome the morning sun.
Soyal is the winter solstice celebration of the Hopi Indians of northern Arizona. Ceremonies and rituals include purification, dancing, and sometimes gift-giving. At the time of the solstice, the Hopi welcome the kachinas, protective spirits from the mountains.
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