Winter Solstice	The word solstice means “sun stop.” On our winter solstice, the sun appears to reach its most southerly point in the year. It is the shortest day of the year here. The sun doesn't really move, but it looks like it does to us. That's because our Earth is tilted as it revolves around the sun once a year.
On the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is tilted away from the sun. At that time it's summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The image below shows where the sun's most direct rays hit on the winter solstice. After the solstice, those strong direct rays will appear to move north. North America will slowly begin to receive more hours of more direct sunlight.