![]() I’ve written previously here and here about how the Romans celebrated Saturnalia around this time of year, honoring the head of their pantheon of Titans. In London, for example, on the Winter Solstice, the Sun sets at 3:53 pm, and the “day” is only 7 hours and 50 mins long. Christmas (December 25), Christians move Christs birthday to this date in 336 A.D. This celebration, known as Saturnalia, was named after Saturn, another name for Nimrod. Brumalia, Winter Solstice on pre-Julian calendar (December 25). The solstice can occur any time between December 20 to 23, though usually on the 21st or 22nd but until modern instrumentation. As I mentioned in my article on Advent, the Romans, during the later Empire period, celebrated a holiday known as the Saturnalia, beginning on the Winter Solstice. When they saw the length of the day increasing, they celebrated by riotous, unrestrained feasting and orgies. And how it is the harbinger of winter holidays. Saturday: Day of Saturn Saturnalian banquets were held from as far back as around 217 BCE. During the time between Babel and Christ, pagans developed the belief that the days grew shorter in early winter because their sun-god was leaving them. began as feast days for Saturn (December 17) and Ops (December 19). It looks like the Sun is “standing still” from the perspective of someone standing on the Earth until, following the Winter Solstice, the days grow longer and the nights shorter. In Ancient Rome the Winter Solstice festival Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for seven days. Timing of Saturnalia varied during the course of Roman history. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation seems to be the same for several days before and after the solstice. ![]() It was a festival that lasted for seven days. ![]() However, as the Earth continues its orbit, the hemisphere angled closest to the sun changes, and the seasons are reversed. In Ancient Rome the winter solstice festival of Saturnalia began today, December 17. The farther north one is from the Equator, the more pronounced this is in Winter. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of sunlight as the Sun is at its lowest arc in the sky, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the world revolves like a tilted spinning top. Solstice comes from the Latin “ solstitium,” meaning “Sun, standing still.” This year it occurs on December 21 at 21:48 GMT (or UTC) and marks the first day of the Winter season in the Northern Hemisphere from an astronomical perspective.Įarth enjoys different seasons because the planet is tilted 23 degrees and 27 minutes off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. ![]() Ancient astronomically aligned instrument ![]()
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