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How many days until winter?
Winter falls on ….
Counted in your own time zone, —.
This counts to 1 December, the start of meteorological winter. The solstice — the shortest day — falls around 21 December.
The season with the best landmark in it
Winter is the only season whose midpoint is more interesting than its start. The solstice around 21 December is the shortest day of the year, after which the light comes back — which is why almost every northern culture put a festival there long before any of them agreed on a calendar.
December, January, February
Meteorological winter is those three months, starting on 1 December, which is also the date most people's Decembers genuinely begin: advent calendars, the first cold snap, the point where it is dark by five. The astronomical definition puts the start three weeks later, which nobody outside an observatory experiences.
Counting through it rather than to it
Winter is the season people most often count their way out of rather than into. If that is what you are doing, the dates worth marking are the solstice, when the light turns, and the clocks going forward in spring, when you get an hour of evening back in one go.
Questions
When does winter start?
1 December by the meteorological definition. Astronomical winter begins at the solstice, around 21 December.
What is the shortest day?
The winter solstice, usually 21 December in the northern hemisphere. Days lengthen from then on.
Is it the same in Australia?
No. Meteorological winter south of the equator runs from 1 June.