December 21st is the Winter Solstice, when we have the shortest day and the longest night. It is the day of great significance to the ancient traditions of the world, in ancient Bharata and in the rest of the world. Ancient sky watchers (whose ancient tradition of sky watching later gave rise to astronomy and astrology much popular in the modern world) constantly observed the changes happening in the celestial bodies, such as the phases of moon, the motion of sun, moon, planets, comets and stars across the sky as well as the phases in the solar output. Often these changes and astronomical events were celebrated by these ancient people (which the Christian clergy contemptuously called the ‘pagans’ and the ‘heathens’) with a lot of fanfare, fun and joy with men, women and children coming out of their homes and joining in the festivities.
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