Winter is finally here! And believe it or not, there's actually an "official" first day of winter, the winter solstice, to kick it off. A common misconception is that winter starts after Thanksgiving.

All hail the darkest night and the rebirth of the sun. In the Northern Hemisphere, the days are dimming, Yule is nigh, and the winter solstice, the proverbial long night of the soul, is at hand. The ...

The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Earth's seasons are caused by its axial tilt, not its distance from the sun. Following the winter solstice, daylight ...