The Brief: As the solstice approaches, people are preparing for the first official day of winter with memes about the shortest and darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
DEEP DIVE
December 21st is the first official day of Winter and memes are marking the solstice with jokes and comments about the start of a new season. Leading up to the 21st, there has been some speculation (both serious and not) about supernatural things occurring on the solstice. This includes jokes on Black Twitter about claims that on the 21st, Black people will “unlock their real DNA” and more general doomsday predictions.
oh so black people gettin super powers on the shortest day of the year? smh pic.twitter.com/Ic21GI4qmV
— taylor garron (@taylorgarron) December 15, 2020
It’s true that on the solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will pass each other closely so that they’ll look like a single object in the sky, but that doesn’t mean the world is ending. As snowstorms hit the East Coast of the U.S., it looks like the official beginning of winter will coincide with a classic marker of the season: snow.
Online, one way people are observing the first day of winter is by sharing memes about the change in seasons, noting how bleak winter can be, especially during a pandemic, and celebrating the witchy vibes that the winter solstice is host to.
In honor of the winter solstice I will also be cold, distant & filled with darkness.
— Doth (@DothTheDoth) December 21, 2018
The winter solstice aka shortest day of the year is less than 10 days away and then the days will start to get longer again. Hang in there babes pic.twitter.com/wV7J0BJ46p
— malcriada 🇳🇮 🇸🇻 (@virgoferreum) December 12, 2020
Almost to the shortest day of the year, guys.
We’ve almost made it, things will get better soon pic.twitter.com/dhWgvGIkst
— Chris Taylor (@christaylor_nyc) December 15, 2020
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Winter solstice: I am going to create a day that is so short.
A Bugs Bunny very pleasant evening meme:
