The winter solstice occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt away from the sun. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the solstice occurs between June 20-22 in the Southern Hemisphere and between Dec. 20-23 in the Northern Hemisphere. The solstice has had special significance in the annual cycle as far back as neolithic times. Dec. 21-22 solstices happen more often than those on Dec. 20 or Dec. 23. The last Dec. 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not reoccur until 2303. The next Dec. 20 solstice will occur in 2080.
