The winter solstice 2026 is the shortest day of the year; after it the days start getting longer. Below is the exact minute of the solstice by your device’s clock: in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk it can fall on different dates.
The shortest day and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. After the solstice the days start getting longer — by a minute or two at first. It falls on 21 or 22 December: in 2026 it is the evening of the 21st in Moscow and already the night of the 22nd in Krasnoyarsk.
This year—the year is worked out in your browser
Next year—the year is worked out in your browser
Day off or working dayWorking daycelebrated, but the day is a working one
Working days left—holidays and moved days off included · work calendar →
Long weekend—the date does not sit next to a weekend
How the date is worked outaround 21 December, the exact moment by astronomythe same rule every year
By day of the week— Mondays · — Fridays
How many Mondays, Fridays and other weekdays are left until the winter solstice. Worked out in your browser, by your own clock.
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Tue—
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Sat—
Sun—
counting both today and the day of the event
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Dates by year
independent of when you opened the page
2026—
2027—
2028—
2029—
2030—
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Frequently asked questions
Winter solstice: Monday, 21 December 2026 at 23:50 Moscow time; Wednesday, 22 December 2027 at 05:42 Moscow time; Thursday, 21 December 2028 at 11:19 Moscow time. The date follows a rule — around 21 December, the exact moment by astronomy — so it is known years ahead. The counter at the top always shows the nearest date, and the “Dates by year” block below lists five years.
The counter at the top of the page shows the days, hours and minutes left until the winter solstice and updates every second by your device’s clock. On the day itself it shows “Today”, and from the next day it counts down to the following year. Nothing needs entering: the date follows the rule.
A solstice or equinox is an instant, the same for the whole Earth, but the calendar date depends on the time zone. If the moment falls in the Moscow evening, Siberia and the Far East are already on the next date. That is why the counter shows the minute by your device’s clock rather than Moscow time.
The shortest day and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. After the solstice the days start getting longer — by a minute or two at first. It falls on 21 or 22 December: in 2026 it is the evening of the 21st in Moscow and already the night of the 22nd in Krasnoyarsk. On this page: a live countdown, the date this year and next year, the weekday and the working days left until it.
The moments are computed with Jean Meeus’s algorithm from “Astronomical Algorithms”, used by calendars and planetariums. Accuracy is about a minute: reference books may differ from this page by one minute because of rounding. The table for 2026–2040 is part of the site’s code, so the page does not fetch dates from the internet.
Press “Add to your site” under the counter: the widget builder opens with this event. Pick the size and theme, copy the code — a single iframe tag with no scripts — and paste it into an HTML block on your site. The widget updates itself, sets no cookies, congratulates visitors on the day and then counts down to the winter solstice the following year.