“Solstice” is a Latin word, by the way, coming to English from Old French and then Middle English, and originally derived from sol sun + status, the past participle of sistere to come to a stop, cause to stand. This makes sense if you think about the solstice as the sun’s path reaching an endpoint and then turning around and going the other way. During the few days during which this direction change is occurring, it will appear that there is actually no movement at all.
This makes sense if you think about the solstice as the sun’s path reaching an endpoint and then turning around and going the other way. During the few days during which this direction change is occurring, it will appear that there is actually no movement at all.
Much can be said about the sensation of perihelion. There is a huge revving up leading to that time and then a pause (silent night et al.) and then a strong falling away feeling as the acceleration reverses itself and moves away from the sun.
Its just another way of attributing the coincidental closeness of the winter solstice and the perihelion. And it is certainly debateable which is the cause, or to what degree the interaction of these 2 events influences any behavior.
But the evidence that holidays in ancient cultures from around the world coincide and celebrate similar memes (light vs darkness) then it is arguable that the winter holiday