The winter solstice is here. Today marks the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere, while last night was the longest night of the year. This has been an important event for millennia, with evidence of celebrations going back as far as 10,000 BCE. Some of the world"s most famous Stone Age monuments, including Stonehenge, are aligned with the point that the sun rises or sets on the winter solstice. Traditionally, it was a time for feasting and lighting of fires to symbolise the darkest day of the year. Ancient Germanic tribes celebrated the winter solstice by bringing evergreens into their homes as a symbol of the returning light and the coming spring.
Happy winter solstice!
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Fossils of belemnites and ammonites, Jurassic Coast, UK
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Great horned owl
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Amber Fort, Amer, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
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An oasis in a sea of sand
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A UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Monarch butterflies, Goleta, California
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Sequoia National Park, California, USA
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Fall colours below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado, United States
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Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
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Pretty in pink
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Zoroaster Temple, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
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Happy St. Patricks Day!
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Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy
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Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California, USA
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St. Gregory Church in Ani Ruins, Kars, Türkiye
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Garden at Château de Villandry, Loire Valley, France
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Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia
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Where is this majestic museum?
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Hnausapollur crater lake, Fjallabak Nature Reserve, Iceland
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Frankenstein Friday
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Pollinator Week
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Saving and celebrating honey bees
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii, United States
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Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia
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Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
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International Archaeology Day
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Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands
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World Childrens Day
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The road less taken?
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International Day of the Tropics
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