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[Lorry]

Everyone knows that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21. The solstices occur twice a year (around December 21 and June 21), because Earth is tilted by an average of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun—the same phenomenon that drives the seasons. Being the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice is essentially the year's darkest day, but it's not the coldest.
Which others facts do you know?

[Big_Becka]

Of course, the solstice was celebrated by pagans as Yule. Even today there are large numbers of neo-Pagans and -Heathens who celebrate the solstice.

Many Christmas traditions, like the Yule log, wassailing, and bringing greenery into the house, are based on Pagan traditions. Some people even beleive that Christmas was moved to mid-December to coincide with Yule, so as to convince Pagans to convert to Christianity.