Happy winter: Get ready for a short day

PHOENIX - Get ready for a short day, as the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere delivers the longest night and shortest daylight period on Dec. 22.

Thursday is the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere; it's also the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere.

The winter solstice occurred at 12:30 a.m. EST Thursday morning.

In addition to the sun shining directly overhead at 23.5 degrees south latitude, you can now start looking forward to longer days. That's because the sun will start rising higher in the sky for the next six months, reported The Washington Post .

The winter solstice also means pagan celebrations around the world. The Huffington Post reported that such celebrations date back centuries, and include:

The Feast of Juul, or Yule, was a pre-Christianity festival in Scandinavia. It involved 12 days of celebrating the rebirth of the sun god. This celebration is also where the custom of burning a Yule occurred.

The winter solstice in ancient Rome involved the Feast of Saturnalia, which honored Saturn, the god of agricultural bounty. The event lasted about a week and involved feasting, debauchery and gift-giving. Many of these customs were absorbed into Christmas celebrations with Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity.

One of these ancient pagan celebrations remains popular today at the ancient ruins of Stonehenge, England. While waiting for the sunrise, thousands of druids and pagans gather at the site to chant, dance and sing.

Also still occurring is the "Dongzhi" Festival in China. Families get together and celebrate on the winter solstice by eating special festive food.