Winter Solstice & Mesoamerica for Kids

© Can Stock Photo / Kandella

What is the Winter Solstice?

Solstices mark the shortest and longest days of the year. There are two solstices annually: the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year. This event is due to the Earth's tilt on its axis and its orbit around the sun. It's caused when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. (From this day onward, the days will continue get longer until they reach the longest day of the year on the Summer Solstice.)

It also officially marks the beginning of winter. 

**It's important to note that while here in the United States (in the Northern Hemisphere) our WINTER Solstice falls on or around December 21st, the Southern Hemisphere is celebrating the SUMMER Solstice on exactly the same day. Why? Because at that time, the opposite pole on Earth has reached its maximum tilt toward the Sun.  

The word "solstice" itself is Latin and literally means to sun stilled - sol ("sun") and sistere ("to stand still"). It was created, one would assume, because on this day, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and appears to stop its celestial journey across the sky.

This year, the Winter Solstice will coincide with another remarkable phenomenon: The Christmas Star. On Dec. 21, the planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear so close together that they will almost look like one point of light to the unaided eye. Here's how you can see it.

This post contains affiliate links.

Aztec Calendar

The Winter Solstice in Mesoamerica

The solstices have a significant history in Mesoamerican cultures. Both the Aztec and Maya considered the day sacred and it influenced their inventions and art. 

The Maya

The day itself is the most important point in the Maya calendar, which was created by the talented astronomers and mathematicians who carefully studied the heavens over centuries. The calendar is one of the most accurate to be invented, and the solstice is the most important point of the calendar.

They also built solar complexes with pyramids created specifically to celebrate significant dates, such as the summer and winter solstices. On these days, the sun illuminates exactly half of the pyramid leaving the other half in darkness. This phenomenon may be seen at Chichen Itza when El Castillo (the pyramid of Kukulkan) becomes divided perfectly in two.

The Aztecs

The Aztecs celebrated Huitzilopochtli's birthday on the Winter Solstice. He was the Aztec's sun god. And they celebrated his rebirth every year on this day in a festive ritual called, Panquetzaliztli. This new sun was symbolic of the light found within each person and represented. 

The Inca

The Inca also celebrated the solstice with Inti Raymi, or the Festival of the Sun. But remember, that the Inca are located in the Southern Hemisphere, so it was celebrated around June 21st. Inti Raymi is still celebrated in certain areas and many of the traditions have been handed down. Here's a beautiful video about the modern Inti Raymi celebration.

Crafts & Activities for Kids

• Little Bins for Little Hands has a nice collection of 15 Winter Solstice Activities for Kids.
  
  
• Red Ted Art has a tutorial for making Simple Lanterns for Winter Solstice
  
  
• Host a Waldorf Solstice Spiral for your immediate family with these tips from Simplify, Live, Love.
  
  
• Check out Heart and Mind Press on TpT. They have a whole bunch of printable activities related to the Winter Solstice, many of them free!

Solstice Books

Read more about the Winter Solstice with these children's books. (affiliate links)

The Shortest Day
by Susan Cooper

on Amazon | on Bookshop

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice
by Carolyn McVickar Edwards 

on Amazon | on Bookshop

The Solstice Badger
by Robin McFadden

on Amazon | on Bookshop

The Winter Solstice
by Ellen Jackson

on Amazon | on Bookshop

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Winter Olympics Parts of Speech Game

• Spanish Winter Word Search {PRINTABLE}
  
  
• Free Spanish Preschool Printables About Winter

SummerLearning: Mayan Mysteries

Today's summer learning resource is totally awesome. We discovered it through Educents on Saturday and my kids and I absolutely LOVE it. Have you already heard about Mayan Mysteries? It is an interactive, online game that teaches kids all about the Maya culture through stories, challenges, and games that take your child on a super fun adventure.

Looters have been stealing ancient Maya artifacts and it's up to you and your team to solve the mystery and stop the thieves. Your child joins Team Q in their quest to find a lost Maya city. Along the way, they'll have to find clues and complete various challenges (more than 300!) to progress. Your child (and maybe you?) will get an in-depth study of the Maya culture. They'll learn about various Maya sites (like Tikal, Cerén, etc.), explore the Maya calendar, and even try their hand at Maya math. They'll discover artifacts and learn about real archaeological techniques, and decode glyphs.

Technically it has been created for kids 11 years old and older in 5th through 9th grades, but my son who is starting 2nd (okay, he's pretty smart) was fascinated and so was my daughter who is starting 4th. I had them read the story, and asked my daughter to help my son with the harder words. But when she left the room, my son discovered the audio button which reads aloud the text. Either way, it is an awesome read and both of them loved the adventurous feel of the game.

You can also find a series of lessons and printables on the Scholastic website. They're easy enough to print up at home or at school. In addition there is an in-game encyclopedia that encourages students to explore topics and retain information ranging from the Maya governmental system to farming practices and Maya beliefs about time.

I simply love this program which teaches everything from geography and culture to social studies, reading comprehension, science, math, and even spatial reasoning. The content is aligned with the Common Core Standards for Language Arts and Mathematics, in addition to the National Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards. I would think that this would be a really great addition to any classroom curriculum.

This is certainly a high-quality educational game that is well worth the money. But you can play a free demo of the game at the Dig-it Games website to decide for yourself.

Parents can also purchase a single-user subscription of the game for $21.99. BUT the game is now available on iPad, too, and you can get it for $9.99.  I have purchased the iPad app for my kids simply to save me minutes on my Internet plan.