This 2014, the winter solstice falls on Dec. 21, thus making it the shortest day and the longest night of the year. As the enigmatic astronomical phenomenon arrives, the daytime will only last nine hours, fifteen minutes and thirteen seconds. The sunrise is at 7:17 a.m., and the sunset is at 4:32 p.m.

The winter solstice 2014 is currently experienced in the Northern Hemisphere while in the Southern Hemisphere, it is usually in June. According to BBC News, the phenomenon occurred the moment the North Pole is tilted furthest from the sun as the Earth continues on its orbit.

The winter solstice itself last only a moment in time. In meteorology, though winter spans the entire period of December through February, the event is often considered as the "extreme of winter." Its seasonal significance is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days.

The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates differ from winter solstice as it depends on the latitude as the solar day varies throughout the year due to the Earth's elliptical orbit. Globally, the interpretation of the astronomical phenomenon has varied from culture to culture.

Several cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, which involves holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time, The Independent UK reported. Today, people gather at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise and sunset as the prehistoric stones are cautiously aligned on the horizon that points to the winter solstice sunset. And it is believed that the phenomenon was actually more significant to those who built the site than the summer equivalent.

Several thought that the winter solstice 2014 would mark the earliest sunset however, it was wrong as the earliest sunset arrived a couple of weeks earlier. Meanwhile, to mark the shortest day of the year, Google UK created an animated Doodle on its homepage where it depicts an animated Santa helping two children to build a snowman before the mother appears and produces a carrot from her shopping bag to use as the snowman's nose.

While the Northern Hemisphere is currently experiencing the winter solstice 2014, the Southern Hemisphere is living through an opposite scenario particularly in Australia. From the middle of December, mornings in Sydney will begin to get darker while evenings will continue to get lighter until early January.

As the winter solstice 2014 marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year, the astronomical phenomenon also makes the start of winter almost official.