Winter Solstice

Today we have 2 guest writers to explain the winter solstice!

From Josh ...

What are Winter Solstice Traditions?

A long long time ago people were scared of winter time. They thought because the sun was going down faster every day that one day all of the sunlight would be gone. That’s what the star on top of the Christmas tree means: it’s a symbol of light.

Before the tale of Santa Claus began, there was another belief. People thought on the winter solstice there was a deer that would fly through the sky with the sun's life safely giving light in her antlers going into the New Year. The winter solstice to some people is just remembering legends all about it.

Why is the Solstice on December 21?

On the December solstice the south pole tilts towards the sun and the sun's rays are right overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn. That’s why for people in the northern hemisphere the solstice happens in the winter.

What does “Solstice” Mean?

The winter solstice welcomes back the sunlight as the days are longer and longer. The actual winter solstice represents the seasonal dark night.

What Happens to Shadows on the Winter Solstice?

In December the sun goes as low as it ever does across the sky, which means there are going to be very long shadows. This happens at noon every winter solstice and it’s the longest your shadow will ever be.

From Bannon ...

"Celestial objects". What comes to mind? The moon? Saturn or Mars? No, today we will be discussing

a celestial object that takes up 99.8% of our solar system’s mass. It’s big, yellow and made of hydrogen and helium. Yes, you guessed it, the sun, More specifically the winter solstice. Please join me on this

adventure, diving into the flaming, yet cold truths about the winter solstice.

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin word “solstitium” which loosely translates to “The sun stands still”. It doesn’t actually stand still, it’s just an optical illusion from the northern hemisphere being tilted furthest away from the sun.

The reason the winte solstice occurs on the 20th-23rd of December is because at this very point, The Northern hemisphere is tilted furthest away from the sun. Today, the specific time the Northern hemisphere is tilted furthest away from the sun is 10:59 am EST. Fun Fact: because of the tilt and orbit of Earth, where it’s the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, it's the summer solstice in the Southern hemisphere or vice versa.

Have you ever wanted to be twice your height? Well now you can. Well, sort of. During winter solstice, your shadows appear twice as big. This is caused by the sun being in its lowest arc across the sky. Fun Fact: The winter solstice also marks the start of winter.

Pagans celebrate the winter solstice as it marks the start of a new solar year. They celebrate by large gatherings and gift giving, not very different from what we do with Christmas. Another common tradition is spending the night by only candle light. This is done to re-ignite the sun. Some Scandinavian

cultures spend time together honoring the Goddess, “Beiwe” and some Romanians do the same but honor the god Saturnalia.

Fun fact: The word “Winter” comes from an old Germanic which means “time of water” referring to the wet snow or rain that falls. Together, these translations make “Time of water, The sun stands still”.

What have we learned? We Have learned where the words “winter” and “solstice” come from and why the winter solstice is on 20th-23rd of December. We have learned about the shadow phenomena, and last but not least, the different winter solstice traditions.

Data Management - Interpreting Infographics

We often think of reading and writing when we talk about literacy. But it is important that we also develop data literacy skills so that we can interpret graphs, charts, tables and infographics.

In a combined health and data management assignment, we are analyzing food guide infographics created by several countries around the world. You can see many of these food guides here.