The shortest day of the year — the winter solstice — is the day when the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and daylight is at its minimum. In the Northern Hemisphere this falls around December 21 or 22. In the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reversed, and the shortest day falls around June 20 or 21.
After the winter solstice, the days immediately begin to get longer — slowly at first, then with increasing speed. The solstice is the turning point of the year.
As with the longest day, how little daylight you receive depends on your latitude. Locations near the poles experience the most dramatic shortening; locations near the equator barely notice a difference.
| Location | Latitude | Day length at winter solstice |
|---|---|---|
| Tromsø, Norway | 70°N | 0 h 00 min (polar night — sun does not rise) |
| London, UK | 51°N | ~7 h 53 min |
| New York, USA | 41°N | ~9 h 17 min |
| Singapore | 1°N | ~12 h 03 min |
| Sydney, Australia | 34°S | ~14 h 25 min (their longest day) |
Above the Arctic Circle (66.5°N), the sun stays below the horizon for days or even weeks around the winter solstice — a phenomenon known as polar night. In Tromsø, Norway (70°N), the sun doesn't rise at all for about two months. At the poles themselves, winter night lasts six months.
Despite the gloom, the winter solstice carries a hopeful message: from this day forward, the light returns. The increase is barely perceptible at first — just one or two minutes of extra daylight per day in late December and January. But by February the pace picks up noticeably, and by the time the spring equinox arrives in late March, days are lengthening by three to five minutes every day at mid-latitudes. The cycle continues until the summer solstice in June, when the longest day of the year arrives. Read more about this process in when do the days start getting longer.
Many of the world's most enduring midwinter traditions are rooted in the solstice. The Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Norse celebration of Yule, and the Persian festival of Yalda Night all cluster around the winter solstice — a time when ancient peoples lit fires, feasted, and held vigil against the darkness, celebrating the return of the light. Christmas, which falls just days after the solstice, shares much of this symbolic territory.
In East Asia, the winter solstice is celebrated as Dongzhi (冬至) in China, Korea, and Japan — a time for family gatherings and traditional foods like tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). In Iran, Yalda Night on December 21 is one of the most important nights of the year, when families stay up until midnight reading poetry and sharing pomegranates and watermelons.
If you live south of the equator, your shortest day falls in June, not December. While the Northern Hemisphere marks its winter solstice in December, Sydney and Cape Town are enjoying their longest days. The calendar date of the solstice is the same for everyone on Earth — what differs is which hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.
Use the tool on the homepage to see the exact sunrise, sunset, and day length for your location — on today's date or any other.