Winter solstice 2026: the shortest day of the year
The winter solstice is Monday, December 21, 2026, at 3:50 PM Eastern (12:50 PM Pacific, 20:50 UTC). It's the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the first day of astronomical winter.
Winter solstice dates and times
| Year | UTC | Eastern | Central | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Dec 21, 20:50 UTC | Dec 21, 3:50 PM | Dec 21, 2:50 PM | Dec 21, 12:50 PM |
| 2027 | Dec 22, 02:42 UTC | Dec 21, 9:42 PM | Dec 21, 8:42 PM | Dec 21, 6:42 PM |
| 2028 | Dec 21, 08:19 UTC | Dec 21, 3:19 AM | Dec 21, 2:19 AM | Dec 21, 12:19 AM |
| 2029 | Dec 21, 14:14 UTC | Dec 21, 9:14 AM | Dec 21, 8:14 AM | Dec 21, 6:14 AM |
| 2030 | Dec 21, 20:09 UTC | Dec 21, 3:09 PM | Dec 21, 2:09 PM | Dec 21, 12:09 PM |
How much daylight on the shortest day?
| City | Daylight on Dec 21 | On Jun 21 |
|---|---|---|
| Miami | 10h 31m | 13h 44m |
| Los Angeles | 9h 52m | 14h 25m |
| New York | 9h 15m | 15h 05m |
| Chicago | 9h 07m | 15h 13m |
| Seattle | 8h 25m | 15h 59m |
| London | 7h 49m | 16h 38m |
| Anchorage | 5h 27m | 19h 22m |
Sunrise to sunset, rounded to the minute. Check today's numbers for your location on sunrise and sunset.
What is a solstice?
The Earth's axis is tilted about 23.4°. At the December solstice the North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun, so the Sun takes its lowest, shortest path across the northern sky, and stands directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. The word comes from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because the Sun's noon height seems to pause before it starts climbing again.
Winter solstice celebrations around the world
For thousands of years, people have marked the longest night with light, fire and food, celebrating the moment the Sun begins its return.
| Celebration | Where | When | Traditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yule | Northern Europe (Germanic and Norse) | Around Dec 21 | Yule logs, evergreens and feasting; many Christmas customs come from it. |
| St. Lucia's Day | Sweden, Norway, Finland | Dec 13 | A girl in a white dress and red sash wears a crown of candles and leads a procession of light. |
| Shab-e Yalda | Iran and the Persian world | Longest night, around Dec 21 | Families stay up all night with pomegranates, nuts and watermelon, reading Hafiz's poetry as light defeats darkness. |
| Dongzhi | China and East Asia | Dec 21 or 22 | "Winter's arrival": families gather for tangyuan rice balls in the south or dumplings in the north. |
| Tōji | Japan | Dec 21 or 22 | Hot baths with floating yuzu citrus to ward off colds, and kabocha squash for good luck. |
| Soyal | Hopi people, Arizona | Winter solstice | A sacred ceremony to welcome the Sun back and bless the coming year. |
| Shalako | Zuni people, New Mexico | Around the solstice | A sacred ceremony of dances and blessings that opens the Zuni new year. |
| Inti Raymi | Peru (Inca) | June 24 (southern winter) | The Festival of the Sun, revived in Cusco since 1944 with a great reenactment at Sacsayhuamán. |
| Saturnalia | Ancient Rome | Dec 17–23 | A week of feasting, gifts and role reversals honoring Saturn, god of agriculture. |
| Newgrange | Ireland | Dec 21 | Sunrise shines down the passage of a 5,000-year-old tomb built to catch it; a lottery decides who gets to watch inside. |
| Stonehenge | England | Around Dec 21–22 | Thousands gather at dawn among the stones, which line up with the midwinter sunset. |
| Dongji | South Korea | Dec 21 or 22 | Families eat patjuk, a red bean porridge said to keep bad spirits away. |
| Willkakuti | Bolivia (Aymara) | June 21 (southern winter) | "The return of the Sun": crowds greet the first sunrise of the Aymara new year at the ruins of Tiwanaku. |
| Matariki | New Zealand (Māori) | Midwinter; public holiday Jul 10, 2026 and Jun 25, 2027 | The Māori New Year, when the Matariki star cluster rises at dawn: a time to remember the dead, celebrate together and plan the year ahead. |
| Yulefest and Dark Mofo | Australia | June | "Christmas in July" roast dinners in the cool Blue Mountains, and Hobart's Dark Mofo winter festival with its famous solstice swim. |
| Midwinter | Antarctic research stations | June 21 | Crews in total darkness celebrate the halfway point of winter with feasts and swapped gifts. |
See more of the year's sacred times on festivals around the world. Source: History.com, 8 winter solstice celebrations around the world.
Questions people ask
When is the winter solstice 2026?
Monday, December 21, 2026, at 3:50 PM Eastern (20:50 UTC). It's the same instant everywhere, so the local date and time depend on your time zone.
Is the winter solstice the shortest day of the year?
Yes, in the Northern Hemisphere. It has the least daylight of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere it's the longest day.
When do the days start getting longer?
Right after the solstice, but slowly at first: only a few seconds a day for the first week. Interestingly, the earliest sunset comes in early December and the latest sunrise in early January.
When is the darkest day of the year?
The winter solstice, December 21 in 2026, has the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, so it's usually called the darkest day.
What is a solstice?
One of the two moments each year when the Sun reaches its farthest point north or south in the sky. The June solstice gives the Northern Hemisphere its longest day; the December solstice its shortest.
How is the winter solstice celebrated around the world?
With light and feasting. Scandinavia has St. Lucia's Day, Iran stays up for Shab-e Yalda, China eats tangyuan for Dongzhi, Japan takes yuzu baths for Tōji, the Hopi hold Soyal, and crowds gather at Stonehenge and Newgrange to watch the solstice sunrise.
Is the winter solstice the first day of winter?
It's the first day of astronomical winter. Meteorologists count winter as December, January and February, so meteorological winter starts on December 1.