Happy winter solstice! Dec 21, 2024

Happy winter solstice!

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 symbolize 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.

© Christian Back/eStock Photo

palette

Today in History

Dec 21, 2018Paper lanterns on the longest night
Dec 21, 2019Seventeen arches at sunset
Dec 21, 2020Shadows on the solstice
Dec 21, 2021Winter solstice
Dec 21, 2022Winter solstice
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Dec 21, 2025Winter solstice

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jun 29, 2022International Day of the Tropics
Sep 19, 2021Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?
Dec 26, 2019It s Slovenia s Independence and Unity Day
Apr 15, 2024World Art Day
Jan 8, 2022American bison
Jul 12, 2022Bay Marker Lookout, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
Sep 18, 2025Dunquin Pier, County Kerry, Ireland
Jan 11, 2021At the gates of the ksar
Jul 28, 2021A goldie gala
Nov 10, 2022Badlands National Park turns 44
Sep 4, 2020A bull, some flowers, and a stratovolcano
Feb 9, 2026Amur leopard cat, Russia
May 30, 2025Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee
Jul 21, 2019A peek behind the royal curtain
Jun 26, 2024Banggai cardinalfish with sea anemone
Apr 16, 2020Bridges to the past
Aug 30, 2021Behold the perfect cone
Apr 24, 2024White trilliums blooming in Ontario, Canada
Jul 7, 2022Heceta Head Light, Florence, Oregon
Jun 15, 2022Nature Photography Day
Jan 31, 2021A glittering diamond in the rough
Mar 15, 2020Celebrating 200 years of statehood
Jul 10, 2023A field of English lavender
Dec 19, 2024Sibiu Christmas market, Romania
Sep 27, 2024Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
Jan 15, 2019A personal collection becomes an institution
Nov 3, 2022International Day for Biosphere Reserves
Dec 4, 2020Protecting wildlife today and tomorrow
Jul 31, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Apr 9, 2026Sgwd yr Eira waterfall, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, Wales