Winter Solstice: Google Doodle Celebrates Shortest Day of The Year

In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice, once celebrated in pre-Christian Europe as Yule, occurs when the North Pole is tilted as much as possible away from the Sun. Due to this phenomenon, the hemisphere experiences its shortest day and longest night. Many countries recognise 22 December as the first day of winter.

Google on Sunday released a snowman Doodle to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The word "solstice" originated from the Latin 'solstitium', meaning "sun stands still", when the "movement of sun's path" stops briefly. It happens twice a year, once in each hemisphere. 

Winter Solstice 2019: Google Doodle marks shortest day, longest night of the year https://t.co/FloLVjAatM pic.twitter.com/x9ajE1UhcS

— budli.in (@Budli_in) December 22, 2019

In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere, mid-winter occurs during the June solstice.

People across the globe took to various social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to wish and celebrate the winter solstice.

Happy December Solstice to all life forms on Earth.

The Northern Hemisphere's longest night. The Southern Hemisphere's longest day.
And for the equator, caught between, a day like any other.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) December 21, 2019

Wishing my Twitter friends a happy and peaceful Winter Solstice this weekend! The nights will get lighter and only two or three months till flowers make an appearance in the gardens. Hurrah! ❄️⛄️❄️🕊

Art by Renae Taylor #WinterSolstice pic.twitter.com/2Lh4ZNTHGV

— Carlyanne McConnell (@CarlyanneMcCon1) December 21, 2019

The shortest day is finally here!! 😃😃😃 22/12/19 #WinterSolstice pic.twitter.com/ryQJIl2RkT

— Susan Kinloch 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺🇪🇺 (@KinlochSusan) December 22, 2019