Winter Solstice and the Beginning of Winter 2024

Arab Weather - Saad Bukhari - Winter 2024 begins at noon on Saturday, December 21, and continues until March 20, 2025.

The start date of the forty-day period according to popular heritage

But according to popular tradition and ancestors’ tales, the forty-day period begins every year on December 23 and ends on January 31, lasting forty days: nine days in December and thirty-one days in January.

The beginning of winter coincides with the first days of the forty days. Winter is divided into two parts:

1. Al-Murabba’iniyah: Its name indicates the number of its days, i.e. forty days.
2. The Khamasiniyah: Its duration is also deduced from its name, meaning fifty days, and it is also called the period of the Saudat.

According to popular tradition, if the forty-day period starts with rain, it heralds a rainy season, but if it starts with dryness, it heralds a dry season.
We note that this year's fall season was characterised by scarcity of rain, a situation we have not seen for many years.

The beginning of winter in the astronomical calendar

Winter in the Arab world falls between December 21 and 23 of each year, as it falls north of the equator. The reason for the difference in the start of winter from one year to another is that the adopted Gregorian calendar consists of 365 days, while in the astronomical calendar, the Earth needs 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to revolve around the sun in a complete revolution.

Winter solstice and the shortest day

As winter sets in, we experience the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees due to the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation. This tilt represents the maximum deviation of the Earth's axis in its orbit around the sun during the year. As a result, we experience a day with a later sunrise and an earlier sunset.

summer in the southern hemisphere

At the same time, the southern hemisphere is experiencing the beginning of summer, which is characterized by the longest day and shortest night of the year. Thus, while it is winter in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in the southern hemisphere.

The difference between a coup and a moderation

• Solstice: It occurs in winter and summer, when the hours of night differ from the hours of day.
• Equinox: occurs in spring and autumn, when the hours of day and night are equal.
• As for the countries located on the equator, the hours of day and night are equal throughout the year, regardless of the season, which is why it is called the equator.

Popular sayings about Al-Mraba'aniya

Among our popular sayings and stories of our ancestors in the Levant, it was said about Al-Murabba’aniyah:

1. If the forty-day period starts with rain, it heralds a rainy season, and if it starts with dry, it heralds a dry season.
2. It was said about it: “Either you are square or you are covered” “Either the sun burns or the rain drowns”
3. They said: "Oh God, save us from the plague of Al-Mraba'aniyah."

Al-Mraba'aniyah is considered the coldest day of the year and the beginning of the rain and snow season.

Winter in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah

At the end of the fifth day of winter, the second part of winter ends, the spring equinox begins, and the hours of night and day become equal.

God Almighty said: “Then I said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever Forgiving. (10) He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers. (11) And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers. (12)” (Surat Nuh).

God Almighty said: “And if you ask them, ‘Who sends down water from the sky and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness?’ they will surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Praise be to Allah.’ But most of them do not reason.” (63) (Al-Ankabut)

God Almighty said: “And We made from water every living thing (30)” (Surat Al-Anbiya).

The supplication says:

1. (O Allah, send us abundant, beneficial, not harmful rain, soon, not later)
2. (O God, send us rain and do not make us among the despairing. O God, send us beneficial rain)
3. (O Allah, let the crops grow for us, and fill our udders with milk, and give us to drink from the blessings of the earth and the sky, and give us to drink from the blessings of the earth and the sky. O Allah, we ask Your forgiveness, for You are the Forgiving, so send down abundant rain from the sky upon us, O Allah, around us and not upon us, O Allah, upon the hills and mountains and the valleys and the places where trees grow. O Allah, a rain of mercy, not a rain of torment or affliction or destruction or drowning.)
4. O God, warmth, peace, goodness and victory for our brothers in Gaza.

See also:

What is the winter solstice?

The longest night of the year.. What causes the winter solstice?

Sources:

Saad Bukhari