Science Alert
From the Neolithic to present times, the amount of sunlight we see in a day has had a profound impact on human culture. We are fast approaching the winter solstice for the Northern hemisphere, which takes place on December 21. This is the longest night of the year – once celebrated as “Yule” by the pagan people of Northern Europe before it became Christmas. Stonehenge and the nearby Neolithic site of Durrington Walls (circa 2,500 BC) were each built to be orientated to face the midwinter sunset and sunrise respectively.
This focus on the winter solstice was an important time marked by feasting and possibly animal sacrifice.
Millennia later, the Romans celebrated Saturnalia (until the fourth century AD) – a festival over the week of the winter solstice dedicated to the god Saturn, involving games and merriment.
The last day of Saturnalia was referred to as the “dies natalis solis invicti” (birthday of the unconquered sun) by the Romans, who celebrated it by giving gifts to each other on December 25.
The pagan Anglo-Saxon event known as Yule was in full swing during the winter solstice a few centuries after that, eventually evolving into the festival we now know as Christmas.
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