Author Topic: Celebrating the Winter Solstice  (Read 342420 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
« Reply #360 on: December 27, 2024, 01:34:20 pm »
So I wonder who it was that discovered that the solstices and equinoxes were on the (roughly/approximately) 21st day of their respective months and not on the 25th day?

And when was this discovery made and implemented?

I think I may have found a partial answer to my questions.

Late last night when I should have been preparing for bed I ended up reading Wikipedia articles on the winter solstice, the Gregorian calendar, the Julian calendar, and the influential Roman writer Pliny.

Because it was so late, I unfortunately did not copy any urls, but I did learn that Pliny calculated the winter solstice to be December 25, when the sun entered the 8th degree of Capricorn. What I did not note is what is the 8th degree of Capricorn and why it was significant. I also didn't pick up on what influence Pliny may have had on solstice celebrations--or who figured out the solstice is December 21.

Pliny lived in the first century. He died trying to rescue people from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (AD 79).
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
« Reply #361 on: December 27, 2024, 06:32:31 pm »
There are quite a few astronomical maps showing the solstices, etc. that predate Pliny. One is Newgrange in Ireland and another is Maeshowe in Scotland, both of which date to the 3rd millennium BC. Other sites where ancient peoples recorded celestial goings-on were in Babylon, Egypt, and Mesoamerica, and ancient Indian Vedic writings discuss the topic. Check out this Wikipedia page on archaeoastronomy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeoastronomy

I have been to Maeshowe and several sites in Southwestern U.S. including Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Hovenweep. The types of astronomical calendars and maps range from standing stones and cave paintings to petroglyphs, kivas, medicine wheels, and structures.
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Online serious crayons

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Re: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
« Reply #362 on: December 27, 2024, 07:29:21 pm »
So I wonder who it was that discovered that the solstices and equinoxes were on the (roughly/approximately) 21st day of their respective months and not on the 25th day?

And when was this discovery made and implemented?

I was going to say they could almost do it without special equipment, and just keep track of times -- if they had a clock that counts by the minute. But then again, there are those ancient places like Stonehenge where the timing and light that would have been measured really precisely.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
« Reply #363 on: February 01, 2025, 05:46:16 pm »
Hello tforster!  Good to see ya!!!

Today is Imbolc.

It's also the feast day of St. Brigid of Kildare, who may have begun as a pagan goddess.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.