Winter solstice 2022

The Winter solstice 2022 is on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (in 208 days).  Calendar for 2022

Please note: The dates given on this page are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which for practical purposes is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). While the Winter solstice occurs at the same moment in time all over the world, the date and local time differ from location to location depending on a location's time zone. For more details see the explanations below.

A winter solstice is the moment in time when the Earth's tilt away from the Sun is at its maximum and the Sun's maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest.

A winter solstice occurs twice a year, once in December in the Northern Hemisphere (also called December solstice and Midwinter) and once in June in the Southern Hemisphere (also called June solstice).

In the Northern Hemisphere the day of the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year (the day with the least daylight and the longest night) and occurs every year between December 20 and December 23. The dates given on this page are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which for practical purposes is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, the time the United Kingdom is on during the winter, when it isn't on summer time). While the winter solstice occurs at the same moment in time all over the world, the date and local time differ from place to place depending on the year and a location's time zone. For locations that are ahead of UTC (further east) it may fall on the day after, and for locations that are behind UTC (further west) it may fall on the day before. To find out the exact date and time of the winter solstice 2022 in your area use this seasons calculator.

The winter solstice marks the end of autumn and the beginning of winter in the hemisphere where it occurs and is one of four days (two equinoxes and two solstices) throughout the year on which a new season starts. The other days are the vernal equinox (also called spring equinox, beginning of spring), the summer solstice (beginning of summer) and the autumn equinox (also called fall equinox, beginning of autumn).

Further reading:

• Winter solstice on Wikipedia
• Solstices in general on Wikipedia

Overview: seasons, equinoxes and solstices

Dates shown apply to the Northern Hemisphere and are based on UTC (GMT)

Season	Start	End
Spring	Spring equinox (vernal equinox, March equinox) March 19 to 21	Summer solstice (June solstice) June 20 to 22
Summer	Summer solstice (June solstice) June 20 to 22	Autumn equinox (Fall equinox, September equinox) September 21 to 24
Autumn (Fall)	Autumn equinox (Fall equinox, September equinox) September 21 to 24	Winter solstice (December solstice) December 20 to 23
Winter	Winter solstice (December solstice) December 20 to 23	Spring equinox (vernal equinox, March equinox) March 19 to 21

The Winter solstice 2023 is on Friday, December 22, 2023 (in 574 days).  Calendar for 2023

Dates of the Winter solstice 2022 and surrounding years as downloadable image file

US federal holidays
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day (MLK Day)
Presidents' Day
    (Washington's Birthday)
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day (4th of July)
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Canadian holidays
Canadian Thanksgiving
Family Day

Australian holidays
ANZAC Day

The seasons
Spring
Vernal equinox (spring equinox,
March equinox)
Summer
Summer solstice (June solstice)
Autumn / Fall
Autumn equinox (fall equinox,
September equinox)
Winter
Winter solstice (December solstice)
First Day of Spring
First Day of Summer
First Day of Autumn / First Day of Fall
First Day of Winter

Christian (and related)
Advent
Advent Sunday
All Hallows' Eve
All Hallows' Day
All Saints' Day
All Souls' Day
Ascension Day
Ash Wednesday
Black Saturday
Boxing Day
Bright Saturday
Bright Week
Candlemas
Christmas
Christmas Day
Christmas Eve
Christmastide
Corpus Christi
Easter
Easter Day
Easter Eve
Easter Friday
Easter Monday
Easter Tuesday
Easter Saturday
Easter Sunday
Eastertide
Easter Week
Easter Weekend
Epiphany
Epiphany Eve
Fat Tuesday
First day of Lent
Good Friday
Halloween
Holy Friday
Holy Saturday
Holy Thursday
Holy Week
Jesus' Birthday
Lazarus Saturday
Lent
Mardi Gras
Maundy Thursday
Orthodox Easter
Palm Sunday
Pancake Day
Pancake Tuesday
Pascha
Pentecost
Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost Monday
Shrove Monday
Shrove Tuesday
St. Andrew's Day
St. David's Day
St. George's Day
St. Patrick's Day
St. Stephen's Day
Theophany
Three Kings Day
Trinity Sunday
Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelfth Night
Whit Sunday
Whit Monday

Other days
April Fools Day
Armed Forces Day
Black Friday
Buy Nothing Day
Cinco de Mayo
Constitution Day
Cyber Monday
Daylight Saving Time
Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos
Diwali (Deepavali)
Earth Day
Election Day
Father's Day
Flag Day
Giving Tuesday
Grandparents' Day
Groundhog Day
Halloween
Human Rights Day
Indigenous Peoples' Day
International Women's Day
Mother's Day
Native American Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Eve
Panic Saturday (Super Saturday)
Parents' Day
Star Wars Day
Samhain
Small Business Saturday
Summer time
Super Saturday (Panic Saturday)
Teacher Appreciation Day
Teacher Appreciation Week
Valentine's Day
World Environment Day
World Teachers' Day