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Winter Solstice celebrations: a.k.a.
Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, the Long
Night, start of Winter, etc.

Overview:

Everywhere in the world, people observe various seasonal days of celebration during the month of December. Most are religious holy days, and are linked in some way to the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. On that day, due to the earth's tilt on its axis, the daytime hours are at a minimum in the Northern hemisphere, and nighttime hours are at a maximum. 

In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. We will assume that the reader lives in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this section.

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Topics covered in this section:

• Beliefs about the diversity of celebrations and their origins. Ancient and recent celebrations from Ancient Brazil to Christian countries
  
  
• Ancient and recent celebrations, from Druids to Native Americans. Some Winter Solstice web sites
  
  
• Dates and times of the Solstice. Books about the Solstice. Related essays on this web site
  
  
• Additional web sites that discuss the winter solstice

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