How many days until winter?

When does winter start?

The first day of winter is the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year in your hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere this falls around December 21–22; in the Southern Hemisphere around June 20–21.

After the solstice, days begin getting longer again — even though temperatures typically continue to fall for several weeks due to the delayed thermal response of land and oceans.

The shortest day of the year

The winter solstice marks the moment the sun is farthest from the celestial equator. For Northern Hemisphere locations, the sun rises in the southeast and sets in the southwest, following a low arc across the sky. The further north you are, the shorter the day.

Winter holidays near the solstice

Many major winter holidays cluster around the solstice. Christmas falls just 4 days after the December 21 solstice; Hanukkah and Diwali often overlap with the late autumn / early winter period. The solstice itself has been celebrated across cultures for thousands of years as the turning point when light begins to return.

Track winter with Left

Add the winter solstice as a countdown in Left. Once it passes, the Since feature lets you track "days since winter started" — and watch the days lengthen toward spring.