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SALT LAKE CITY — Some mark the winter solstice as the shortest day of the year, but for others — especially those who love a little magic — those longer days mean a chance to reflect.
“It’s a chance to rebuild our goals, shed the old things that are no longer resonating with us, and cut off loose ties,” said Emily Fuchs, an assistant manager at Golden Braid Books, a spiritual bookstore.
But first, what’s the science behind the solstice?
Monica Traphagan, a senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service, says it’s the shortest day and longest night of the year, thanks to the Earth’s tilt. She says the winter solstice can happen anywhere from Dec. 20 through Dec. 22.
“It’s when the northern hemisphere of the earth is tilting the farthest away from the sun,” she said. “The days get longer from here.”
Those longer days give people like Fuchs a moment to pause. She says it also marks a time for things like the German-rooted “13 Wishes” ritual: write 13 wishes on slips of paper (starting on the solstice), burn one each night until New Year’s Day, and the final wish is yours to keep.
Whatever the winter solstice means to you, some say it’s something that connects us all.
“Not only does recognizing that today is the solstice connect us with our planet, the earth, but it also connects us with people of the past, people of the present,” said Jason Trump, an education programs supervisor at Clark Planetarium.
