Winter Solstice more than the shortest day of the year

Happy Winter Solstice! Besides being the day with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year, there are a few other facts to the first day of winter. According to the Farmers Almanac, the solstice is the beginning of astronomical winter. Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. For meteorologists (and the majority of us in the U.S.), winter began three weeks ago on December 1.

While we may not go out and actively celebrate the day, several cultures around the world do…