Today, in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the Winter Solstice (also known as the December Solstice), which occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees and the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun.

All places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north (Arctic Polar Circle) are now in darkness.

The winter solstice was traditionally a holy day: a sacred time in the annual cycle of life. There were many traditions (and several have survived in one form or another); among others, friends visited one another to exchange good-luck presents; temples were adorned with evergreen boughs, which symbolized life’s stability; large yule-logs were set ablaze in a great bonfire, minstrels played, and mead was consumed merrily (and profusely) about the fire; and children were honoured, because they bring luminosity, warmth, and exuberance into the darkest time of the year.