How Many Days Until the Winter Solstice?
There are 60 days until the Winter Solstice, on Monday, December 21, 2026. The December solstice usually falls on December 21 and is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The counter tracks the days until the longest night and the slow return of daylight.
Countdown to the Winter Solstice
Monday, December 21, 2026Counting down to the Winter Solstice on Monday, December 21, 2026.
How we date the Winter Solstice
The December solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the astronomical start of winter. The exact instant drifts by up to a day between years, so this counter is anchored to 21 December.
the Winter Solstice dates for the next ten years
The weekday is the part that changes, and it is usually what people are actually checking. Every row below is computed from the rule above rather than typed in by hand.
| Year | Date | Weekday | Days from today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 December | Monday | 60 |
| 2027 | 21 December | Tuesday | 425 |
| 2028 | 21 December | Thursday | 791 |
| 2029 | 21 December | Friday | 1,156 |
| 2030 | 21 December | Saturday | 1,521 |
| 2031 | 21 December | Sunday | 1,886 |
| 2032 | 21 December | Tuesday | 2,252 |
| 2033 | 21 December | Wednesday | 2,617 |
| 2034 | 21 December | Thursday | 2,982 |
| 2035 | 21 December | Friday | 3,347 |
About the countdown to the Winter Solstice
The solstice moment moves by a few hours annually and can fall on December 21 or December 22, so the countdown anchors to December 21 for consistency.
After the December solstice the days gradually grow longer in the north, which is why so many midwinter traditions celebrate returning light. In the Southern Hemisphere it is midsummer.
The counter above reads from your device clock and refreshes every second, so the days, hours, minutes and seconds always reflect the time remaining right now. The next the Winter Solstice falls in ISO week 52 of 2026. When the day arrives the page says so instead of showing a zero, and from the following day it moves its target to 2027, so the countdown never runs out of road.
Around the same time
These fall within a fortnight of the Winter Solstice, which is useful if you are planning around the date rather than only checking it.
| Event | Date | Relative to the Winter Solstice |
|---|---|---|
| Human Rights Day | 10 December 2026 | 11 days before |
| Christmas | 25 December 2026 | 4 days after |
| Boxing Day | 26 December 2026 | 5 days after |
| New Year's Eve | 31 December 2026 | 10 days after |
| New Year's Day | 1 January 2027 | 11 days after |
Frequently asked questions
How many days until the Winter Solstice?
the Winter Solstice falls on Monday 21 December 2026. That is 60 days from Thursday, October 22, 2026. The counter at the top of the page recalculates from your own device clock, so it is exact for your time zone.
What day of the week is the Winter Solstice this time?
The next the Winter Solstice falls on a Monday (Monday 21 December 2026). The weekday changes from year to year; the table on this page lists it for the next ten occurrences.
How is the date for the Winter Solstice decided?
The December solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the astronomical start of winter. The exact instant drifts by up to a day between years, so this counter is anchored to 21 December. Source: NOAA NCEI, meteorological versus astronomical seasons.
Does this countdown update every year?
Yes. Once the Winter Solstice passes, the page rolls its target forward to the next occurrence, so the countdown stays accurate without any manual updates. The ten-year table moves along with it.
Is the the Winter Solstice countdown based on my time zone?
The day count uses your device's local calendar date, not the server's. the Winter Solstice is treated as a whole calendar day rather than an instant, which is why the count matches the calendar on your wall wherever you are.
Count down to another event
Counting down to something else? Build your own with the countdown timer, put this counter on your own site with the embeddable widget, or browse the full list of countdowns. Working out an age instead? Use the age calculator.
Dates verified on 2026-08-05. Page recalculated Thursday, October 22, 2026.