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Winter Solstice: Google Doodle Celebrates Shortest Day of The Year

© Sputnik / Vladimir Smirnov / Go to the mediabankLake Baikal
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In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice, once celebrated in pre-Christian Europe as Yule, occurs when the North Pole is tilted as much as possible away from the Sun. Due to this phenomenon, the hemisphere experiences its shortest day and longest night. Many countries recognise 22 December as the first day of winter.

Google on Sunday released a snowman Doodle to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The word "solstice" originated from the Latin 'solstitium', meaning "sun stands still", when the "movement of sun's path" stops briefly. It happens twice a year, once in each hemisphere. 

In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the December solstice and in the Southern Hemisphere, mid-winter occurs during the June solstice.

People across the globe took to various social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to wish and celebrate the winter solstice.

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