↟ The Winter Solstice is slowly drawing near, the wheel will soon turn – and so will the light.

With only a month left to The Winter Solstice, which occurs on Sunday 21st of December in Scandinavia this year, the days will be even darker here in the North. Winter Solstice marks the shortest and darkest day of the year, the sun has the lowest noon height and the earth’s axis of rotation leans furthest from the sun. Right now the sun sets at 03:07 PM in Svealand, Sweden.

Many tries to tie the Winter Solstice with Yule, which is incorrect. The Germanic people in the North have always celebrated the original ‘Jul’ at the first full moon, after the new moon after the Winter Solstice. We have ancient traditions based on our different seasons, and the position of the sun and the moon like the Summer Solstice (Midsummer) and the first full moon, after the new moon after the Winter Solstice (Jul), that were established long before the Christianization of Scandinavia. Much of the origin of the Old Norse roots still exists today in our current traditions, as our pagan ancestors once celebrated them.