Paper lanterns on the longest night Dec 21, 2018

For the winter solstice today, we’re in Santa Fe, where residents celebrate the holidays with lovely paper lanterns known as farolitos, or luminarias. The annual Farolito Walk takes place each Christmas Eve in the city’s Canyon Road arts district, but the farolitos are often on display much earlier, lighting the way among the pueblo-style architecture that this region is known for. Winter solstice marks both the official start of winter, and the longest night of the year—meaning these paper lanterns will be put to good use tonight.

© Julien McRoberts/Danita Delimont

palette

Today in History

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, 2024Happy winter solstice!
Dec 21, 2025Winter solstice

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Aug 17, 2025International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
Feb 26, 2021Lighting the way to new beginnings
Dec 20, 2022Christmas market at Belvedere Palace in Vienna
Dec 10, 2025Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
May 7, 2018Happy 300th, NOLA!
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Jan 20, 2024Penguin Awareness Day
Mar 18, 2024Elephant Rock, Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia
Jul 2, 2020All Rhodes lead to the beach
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
Apr 22, 202050 years of Earth Day
Oct 14, 2022Río Arazas in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Spain
Jun 29, 2021An island hopper s paradise
Jan 22, 2018Bird’s-eye view of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Jun 20, 2018Today is World Refugee Day
Dec 8, 2018How lovely are your branches
Sep 3, 2020Tall, taller, tallest
Feb 2, 2022Groundhog Day
Dec 30, 2021Westerheversand Lighthouse
Oct 12, 2020Indigenous Peoples Day
Mar 1, 2021Gazing upon Portraits of Change
Apr 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Jun 10, 2022Poppies in bloom
Apr 3, 2019Dark skies over New Mexico
Nov 28, 2022Red Planet Day
Jan 6, 2026Nuuk, Greenland
Nov 11, 2022Veterans Day
Jul 8, 2021A storied trail marks a century
Dec 19, 2023Castle Square, Old Town, Warsaw, Poland
Jun 3, 2026World Bicycle Day