The Lord gives us the lights in the heavens as seasonal roadmaps, as
it says in Genesis.  But I'm curious as to the exact date of the
beginning of winter.  Does it correlate with December 21/22?

---

Request for Question Clarification by kriswrite-ga on 11 Dec 2003 09:59 PST

Hi there~

Unfortunately, there is nothing in the Bible that says "This day is
the first day of winter." It might be possible to tell you what day
the ancient Hebrews considered the first day of winter; would this
information suit your needs?

Kriswrite

---

Clarification of Question by 8675309-ga on 11 Dec 2003 10:05 PST

I'm interested in what would be the correct interpretation Biblically.
 I.e., could it be said that December 21st could be consistent?  If
God made the heavens to tell us of times and seasons, then would it
make sense to interpret the winter solstice as being "the sign" talked
of?

I doubt if you could definitive pin down the "official" first day of
winter through Biblical references. The Old Testament festival dates
such as Passover, The Feast of Tabernacles etc were associated more
with events in Jewish history than with seasonal refernces. Also in
Christian terms it appears that the official positioning of Christmas
Day on 25th December was designed to overshadow any remaining
celebration of the pagan solstice. The nearest Jewish celebration I
can find to the solstice is Chanukah (The Festival of Lights) although
this is extra-Biblical and also has it's source in Jewish history.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/holidays/212990/detail.html