Halloween night, also known as the "night of the witch," is a spooky and fun-filled holiday celebrated on the 31st of October each year. It is a night when the boundary between the living and the dead is believed to be blurred, and supernatural beings freely roam the earth. The origin of Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would light bonfires and dress up in costumes to ward off evil spirits. With the spread of Christianity, the holiday became associated with All Hallows' Eve, the night before All Saints' Day. One of the most iconic figures of Halloween is the witch. Witches are often depicted as old, haggard women with broomsticks and pointed hats, flying through the night sky on their way to secret gatherings called sabbaths.
• Tokyo: 6:48 a.m. Thursday
• Hanoi, Vietnam: 4:48 a.m. Thursday
• New Delhi: 3:18 a.m. Thursday
• Istanbul: 12:48 a.m. Thursday
• Jerusalem: 11:48 p.m. Wednesday
• Copenhagen, Denmark: 10:48 p.m. Wednesday
• Charlotte, North Carolina: 4:48 p.m. Wednesday
• Winnipeg, Manitoba: 3:48 p.m. Wednesday
• San Francisco: 1:48 p.m. Wednesday
• Honolulu: 11:48 a.m. Wednesday To check the timing where you live, the website EarthSky has a handy conversion table for your time zone. You might also try the conversion tools at Timeanddate.com, Timezoneconverter.com or WorldTimeServer.com. What places see and feel the effects of the winter solstice the most? Daylight decreases dramatically the closer you are to the North Pole on December 21. People in balmy Singapore, just 137 kilometers or 85 miles north of the equator, barely notice the difference, with just nine fewer minutes of daylight than they have during the summer solstice. It's pretty much a 12-hour day, give or take a few minutes, all year long there. Much higher in latitude, Paris still logs in a respectable eight hours and 14 minutes of daylight to enjoy a chilly stroll along the Seine. The difference is more stark in frigid Oslo, Norway, where the sun will rise at 9:18 a.m. and set at 3:12 p.m., resulting in less than six hours of anemic daylight. Sun lamp, anyone?
As the planet moves around the sun, each hemisphere experiences winter when it s tilted away from the sun and summer when it s tilted toward the sun. Winter solstice traditions and celebrations It s no surprise many cultures and religions celebrate a holiday -- whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or pagan festivals -- that coincides with the return of longer days.
Witches are often depicted as old, haggard women with broomsticks and pointed hats, flying through the night sky on their way to secret gatherings called sabbaths. They are associated with magic, spells, potions, and cauldrons, and are believed to have the power to cast spells and curses. On Halloween night, witches are said to be at their most powerful.
Winter solstice: Shortest day of the year is long on pagan rituals
CBS News Miami Live MIAMI - For the past six months, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere. But that's about to reverse itself. Winter solstice 2022, the shortest day of the year and the official first day of winter, is Wednesday, December 21 (well, for a decent chunk of the world anyway). How this all works has fascinated people for thousands of years. First we'll look at the science and precise timing behind the solstice. Then we'll explore some ancient traditions and celebrations around the world. The science and timing behind a winter solstice
The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun appears at its most southerly position, directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn. The situation is the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere, where only about 10% of the world's population lives. There, the December solstice marks the longest day of the year -- and the beginning of summer -- in places like Argentina, Madagascar, New Zealand and South Africa.
When exactly does it occur? The solstice usually -- but not always -- takes place on December 21. The date that the solstice occurs can shift because the solar year (the time it takes for the sun to reappear in the same spot as seen from Earth) doesn't exactly match up to our calendar year. What places see and feel the effects of the winter solstice the most? Daylight decreases dramatically the closer you are to the North Pole on December 21.
People in balmy Singapore, just 85 miles north of the equator, barely notice the difference, with just nine fewer minutes of daylight than they have during the summer solstice. It's pretty much a 12-hour day, give or take a few minutes, all year long there. Much higher in latitude, Paris still logs in a respectable eight hours and 14 minutes of daylight to enjoy a chilly stroll along the Seine. The difference is more stark in frigid Oslo, Norway, where the sun will rise at 9:18 a.m. and set at 3:12 p.m., resulting in less than six hours of anemic daylight. Sun lamp, anyone? Residents of Nome, Alaska, will be even more sunlight deprived with just three hours and 54 minutes and 31 seconds of very weak daylight. But that's downright generous compared with Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. It sits inside the Arctic Circle and won't see a single ray of sunshine. What causes the winter solstice to even happen? Because Earth is tilted on its rotational axis, we have changing seasons. As the planet moves around the sun, each hemisphere experiences winter when it's tilted away from the sun and summer when it's tilted toward the sun. Hold on! Why is the Earth tilted?
Scientists are not entirely sure how this occurred, but they think that billions of years ago, as the solar system was taking shape, the Earth was subject to violent collisions that caused the axis to tilt. What other seasonal transitions do we mark? The equinoxes, both spring and fall, occur when the sun's rays are directly over the equator. On those two days, everyone everywhere has a nearly equal length of day and night. The summer solstice is when the sun's rays are farthest north over the Tropic of Cancer, giving us our longest day and the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter solstice traditions and celebrations
It's no surprise many cultures and religions celebrate a holiday -- whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or pagan festivals -- that coincides with the return of longer days. Ancient peoples whose survival depended on a precise knowledge of seasonal cycles marked this first day of winter with elaborate ceremonies and celebrations. Spiritually, these celebrations symbolize the opportunity for renewal. "Christmas takes many of its customs and probably its date on the calendar from the pagan Roman festivals of Saturnalia and Kalends," Maria Kennedy, assistant teaching professor in the Department of American Studies at Rutgers University, told CNN Travel in an email. Saturnalia started on December 17 and Kalends started on January 1, said Kennedy, who specializes in Christmas studies.
Citing academic research, Kennedy said early founders of the Christian church condemned the practices of these holidays, but their popularity endured. Christian observance of Christmas eventually aligned around the same time in the calendar even though there's no specific date set in the Gospels for the birth of Jesus. Here's more on some of those ancient customs: Alban Arthan In the Welsh language, "Alban Arthan" means for "Light of Winter," according to the Farmers' Almanac. It might be the oldest seasonal festival of humankind. Part of Druidic traditions, the winter solstice is considered a time of death and rebirth. Newgrange, a prehistoric monument built in Ireland around 3200 BC, is associated with the Alban Arthan festival. Saturnalia In Ancient Rome, Saturnalia lasted for seven days. It honored Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture.
The people enjoyed carnival-like festivities resembling modern Mardi Gras celebrations and even delayed their war-making. Slaves were given temporary freedoms, and moral restrictions were eased. Saturnalia continued into the third and fourth centuries AD. Dongzhi It's not just ancient Europeans who marked the annual occasion. The Dongzhi Winter Solstice Festival has its roots in ancient Chinese culture. The name translates roughly as "extreme of winter." They thought this was the apex of yin (from Chinese medicine theory). Yin represents darkness and cold and stillness, thus the longest day of winter. Dongzhi marks the return yang -- and the slow ascendance of light and warmth. Dumplings are usually eaten to celebrate in some East Asian cultures. Celebrations
Many places around the world traditionally hold festivals that honor the winter solstice. A few of them include: Montol Festival Better known for pirates than the solstice, the town of Penzance on the southwest coast of England revived the delightful tradition of a Cornish processional -- along with dancing, mask-wearing, singing and more.
Stonehenge The UK's most famous site for solstice celebrations is Stonehenge. On the winter solstice, visitors traditionally enter the towering, mysterious stone circle for a sunrise ceremony run by local pagan and druid groups. The English Heritage Society says the 2022 celebration will be held on Thursday, December 22. It will be livestreamed on its YouTube channel. Lantern Festival In Canada, Vancouver's Winter Solstice Lantern Festival is a sparkling celebration of solstice traditions spread across the Granville Island, Strathcona and Yaletown neighborhoods.
From this point Christmas continued to overtake Yule, although some vestiges of the original celebration remain. One of these is the Yule log, still popular today although usually in altered form. It is thought that the original Yule log was a large log that burned throughout the entire multiday festival, for as many as 12 days. A popular modern take on the Yule log is a roulade-style cake decorated to look like a log.
It is believed that they can summon ghosts, communicate with the dead, and perform powerful spells and rituals. Many people choose to dress up as witches on this night, wearing long black robes, tall pointed hats, and carrying brooms. It is a way to embrace the spirit of Halloween and join in the fun and mischief that is associated with the holiday. In addition to witches, Halloween is also known for its symbols and traditions, such as jack-o'-lanterns, haunted houses, trick-or-treating, and costume parties. It is a time for people of all ages to indulge in their love for all things spooky and supernatural. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, Halloween night is a magical and enchanting time. It allows us to step outside of our normal lives and embrace the thrill of the unknown. So, on this Halloween night, don't be afraid to embrace your inner witch and join in the festivities. After all, it's the one night of the year when anything can happen..
Reviews for "Witchy Wonders: Magical Events and Festivals on Halloween Night"
- Sarah - 2/5 - I was really excited to read "Halloweeb night of the witch" because I love horror novels, but I was sorely disappointed. The plot was slow and predictable, and the characters were one-dimensional and hard to connect with. I found myself constantly checking how many pages were left, just hoping it would end. Overall, I was underwhelmed by this book and wouldn't recommend it to other horror lovers.
- Mike - 1/5 - "Halloweeb night of the witch" was a complete waste of my time. The writing was terribly amateurish, the dialogue was cringeworthy, and the story was an unoriginal cliché. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters or their fates. It was like the author was trying too hard to be scary and ended up with a mess of a book. Save your money and skip this one.
- Jenna - 2/5 - I wanted to like "Halloweeb night of the witch" since I'm a fan of supernatural stories, but I found it incredibly boring. The pacing was off, with long stretches of nothing happening, and then a rushed and unsatisfying ending. The main character was supposed to be strong and independent, but I found her to be annoying and unlikeable. I struggled to finish this book and felt let down by the lackluster storytelling.