The winter solstice begins today (Thursday, December 21) marking this as the shortest day of the year. This marks the time that the Northern Hemisphere is farthest away from the sun.
The winter solstice is not necessarily the pronouncement of the coldest temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. The coldest temperatures actually come later.
The solstice actually occurs twice–once in the Northern Hemisphere and again six months later in the Southern Hemisphere.
In ancient times, ancient cultures would follow the astrological movements of the sun and moon and would use those movements to determine the time to plant, the time to harvest, and the time to mate livestock and such, according to Wikipedia.
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