The winter solstice occurs about December 21 when the North Pole is tilted directly away from the sun. This day has the fewest hours of sunlight of any day of the year. Above the Arctic Circle the sun never rises, on this day, at midday the sun gives a faint glow in the southern sky. The coldest part of the winter doesn't come unitl late January or early February becuase the land and seas are still giving off stored heat.
