Winter Solstice

5 strange things that’ve happened on the winter solstice

The word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere “to stand still.” On this day, the sun’s path reaches its southernmost point. Losing its momentum while it begins its return northward, its path appears to stand still. This cycle of gradual diminishing and reversal is associated with dying and being born again in many cultures. As the Farmers’ Almanac notes, for example, in Druidic traditions, “the Winter Solstice is thought of as a time of death and rebirth when Nature’s powers and our own souls are renewed.” Adding that, the “birth of the New Sun is thought to revive the Earth’s aura in mystical ways, giving a new lease on life to spirits and souls of the dead.”

Whether you’re a fan of winter or just wish it would go away, Winter Solstice is upon us. As we have been lurking into the history pages, let’s trek back in time to reminisce about some events that actually occurred on this day. Without further adieu, here you go:

1620: The Mayflower anchors in Plymouth harbor

1898: Radium is discovered

Cornell University LIbrary / Flcikr/CC Radium was discovered on this date by wife and husband chemist team Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie, ushering in Marie’s theory of radioactivity and the Atomic Age. That’s pretty significant. Radium is about one million times more active than uranium. Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and only woman to win twice, the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences. Her notebooks chronicling her discoveries are still so “hot” that they still cannot be safely handled today … and will likely remain so for another 1600 years.

1937: World’s first full-length animated feature premiers

In the Brothers Grimm version, the evil queen stepmother asks a hunter to take Snow White into the forest and kill her (this also happens in the Disney movie). However, in the story, she asks him to also bring her back Snow White’s lungs and liver. He can’t kill Snow White, so brings back a boar’s lungs and liver instead. The queen eats the lungs and liver, believing them to be Snow White’s. Yuck. In the book, the queen tries twice (unsuccessfully) to kill Snow White. The third time, when the queen gives her the apple (just like in the movie), Snow White faints and can’t be revived. She is placed in a glass coffin. A prince comes and wants to take her away (even though she is still asleep, which is pretty weird). The dwarves hesitantly allow it, and while she is being carried, the carriers trip, causing the poisoned apple to become dislodged from Snow White’s throat. She and the prince, of course, get married. The evil queen is invited. As a punishment, she is forced to wear burning-hot iron shoes and dance until she drops dead.

1968: Apollo 8 spacecraft is launched

Important to us TreeHuggers, it was also the first time that photos were taken of Earth as seen from deep space. The iconic “Earthrise” image was taken by Major William A. Anders, the lunar module pilot. The image gave us a new perspective of our home planet, and is credited by many for starting the environmental movement.

2012: The world doesn’t end

As Benjamin Anastas wrote in The New York Times, “To some, 2012 will bring the end of time; to others, it carries the promise of a new beginning…”

But in the end, it just brought another shortest day of the year, a sun standing still and starting its trek back to the longer days of summer. Which is actually pretty impressive all on its own.

via Tree Hugger

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