Winter Holidays around the World
Christmas is just around the corner. The next few days will be spent surrounded by family and friends, opening presents, feasting, singing carols, attending church services celebrating Jesus Christ’s birth and many other traditions by Christians and non-Christians around the world.
There are many other holidays and celebrations that happen during the winter. For example, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year for anyone living north of the equator. Its origins predate Christ when early Europeans celebrated a time of renewal as the darkest days of winter were behind them and longer days with more sunlight were ahead of them. Evidence of solstice celebrations have also been found in ancient Peruvian, Egyptian, Iranian and Chinese civilizations.
