Also known as the First Day of Winter, the Winter Solstice for the northern hemisphere arrives shortly after 5:23 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, Friday, Dec. 21st. It will be the shortest day and longest night of the year, based on the hours, minutes and seconds of sunlight and darkness.
The winter solstice is an astronomical event, based on the Earth’s tilt away from the sun. It occurs when the tilt of the North Pole is positioned the farthest away from the sun, causing less light to reach the northern hemisphere.
The winter and summer solstices, and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, are the extreme points in each of these seasons. In winter, the Earth tilts away from the sun causes sunlight to be spread out over a larger surface area than in summer. It also causes the sun to rise later and set earlier, giving us fewer hours of sunlight and colder temperatures.
The winter solstice is celebrated in many cultures with festivals, pagan events and other gatherings in different parts of the world. One of the most well-known celebrations takes place Stonehenge. Folks gather from all around to watch the sunrise.
If you’re into scary and odd things, you can take a trip to Austria, where folks dress up like Krampus. He is the "half-demon, half-goat counterpart to Santa Claus. The creature has a furry body, pointy, elf-like ears and long horns sprouting from its head. He punished the naughty children. 
In Japan, folks soak in hot baths with citrus fruit to welcome the winter solstice and protect their bodies from the common cold. Some Australians take a naked dip into the ice cold Derwent River And long before the arrival of Christianity, the winter solstice was celebrated by Celtic priests, known as the Druids.
I’ll be celebrating by finishing Christmas projects and goodies LOL 
On another note it’s 50° and raining. Hard to think of it as Winter
We will be celebrating our big family Christmas on Sunday. 
