Dutch Oven Fish Fry (Video & Transcript)

BG: “Hey folks what we have here is something that most people in Florida consider a trash fish. This is Southern chain Pickerel. Okay, it’s lost a little color because I just brought him off the ice. He’s a predator fish, he’s got pike. Look at the mouth on that joker. He can eat a lot of stuff. Old timers use to just knock these guys in the head, kill em and through em back in the water. This ones got something big in his belly. We’ll try and see what that is. He’s eaten something very larger. For his size he can wolf down a huge fish. Like I said, most people either just through these guys back or just kill them or leave them out there for the gators. The old timers call this fish in Florida a Fresh Water Jack. It is a cousin to the northern pike. Much smaller. This one is average size but they get much bigger than this. Maybe 3-4 pounds. I’ve even seen a few around 6 pounds but this is a very good fish to eat.”

“Skin off. Like I said, those look like 2 beautiful fillets of fish. The problem is just like every other pike there are those Y bones running the entire link of the fish. Now that we have this filleted you can go down this middle and you can feel the Y bones and may be able to see the little tips of them. They extend down like your spread fingers all the way through that filet. So we are just gonna try to find the edges of them all the way down there and let the knife just kind of follow them. I can feel the pressure of them as I go down and take this strip off you’ll be able to actually see them. This is, believe me, I would never go through this trouble with this particular fish if this was not worth it. You can see there is the Y bone there, but that piece right there is completely boneless. You can feel it with your fingers. Beautiful piece of fish right there so we’re gonna save that one. Now it does the same thing on the bottom side. I see a few bits of the bones, a little piece of the rib left. Down here at the tail end we are gonna kind of do the same thing. We are gonna cut down until we feel that Y bone. Let the knife follow it. Even if these pieces are very small, they are delicious. “

“We got a couple nice crappy today to. We are just gonna go head and filet them out. Another tutorial filleting we are just gonna go ahead and get these guys ready for the Dutch oven and go ahead and cook these guys on an open fire for you guys today. I try to do the least wasted meat as possible. Fish is ready to go on the fire and the Dutch oven warming up with the oil. 

“What we are gonna do is a very simple hush puppy mix. One cup of corn meal, one teaspoon of baking powder. So dry ingredient’s a teaspoon of garlic, a teaspoon of pepper and salt. Boom. Combine the dry ingredients alright. Next thing we got is about a half a cup of finely chopped sweet onion. Optional. It’s really good in hush puppies though. Throw that in and then we’ve got one beaten egg and a little bit of water to bring it up to ¾ of a cup. Pour that in and incorporate that. While we are looking here our consistency we are looking for on this is a little thicker than corn bread. We want it to be able to hold together enough that we can drop it into hot oil. That’s about right. Really thick cake batter or pancake batter. Not as soupy as corn bread. We’ll just let that sit a minute and we’ll be ready to make hush puppies.”

“Alright we’re gonna go ahead and dredge our pickerel strips, this is a half cup corn meal, half cup flour, and a good couple tablespoons of butt rub. Go ahead and dredge those and get em good and coated. We got a couple of good fillets there. Crappy or as we call them here in Florida, speckled perch. Dredge em up and let em set over here on the pan and get em ready. Got a couple people to feed. (Dropping in hot oil)”

“Okay folks, as usual we’re gonna plate this up backwoods gourmet style. Got some fresh Romain from the garden here. Gonna go ahead and place that on the bottom of the plate as part of our garnish and also a nice, fresh cool component. Over the top of that we are gonna squeeze a sour orange. These are all over Florida where peoples trees have frozen and they don’t make sweet oranges anymore. It is a lot like a lemon, very sour. Gonna go ahead and arrange a couple fillets here. A couple pretty ones cooked in the Dutch oven. And then strip of our pickerel. Most people call it trash fish. Then we got three beautiful hush puppies to go with that and then a couple of wedges of the sour orange segment’s to compliment the dish. Alright so another beautiful plate cooked on an open fire. You can do this and it is delicious.”

Bug Out Fire Starters (Video & Transcript)

Bug Out Bag Fire Starters

Shane: “Hey welcome back You Tube, it’s Shane here with another episode of Lone Wolf Survival and we’re here to talk a little bit about fire making and some of the commercial and non-commercial applications that are out there. Now later on we’re going to talk about some of the more primitive skills stuff but I’m gonna more or less key in on what you’re going to carry in your Bug Out bag or your camping gear. Something more portable than fire bow systems like that.”

“So what I’m gonna start with is one I always start with any time we’re out there and people want to know what their building their fires with. A .89 cent Bic disposable. It’s what I use okay? Fire in my pocket okay. I carry several of these. Some people won’t do it. This very rarely lets me down. It takes very little effort. Its compact, throw it in my bug out bag, throw it in my survival bag. I can put it in my day bag or in my pocket. So that’s one.”

“Number two is plain ole water proof stick matches. Coleman has a water proof stick match you can strike anywhere. I can throw em in a zip lock bag or bug out bag. Good for that.”

“Then you start looking at some of the strikers. Here is one made by UST. Pretty good little system. Compact. Ten, twelve, fourteen dollars is what you’ll spend on systems like this. Make sure on these you get the coating off of them or you’re gonna stand there for a good period of time. Good little striker, compact, inexpensive.”

“Then we go back to my favorite which is always my Smith Multi tool that I have. It has a sharpener, a compass and it has a fire striker located in the handle. Like I said make sure you get the coating off it. This is a good little system as well. Inexpensive and light weight.”

“Then we go to a product that Coleman puts out. This is a magnesium block. The neat thing about this is it has what appears to be part of a hack saw blade. That’s what it looks like, a hacksaw blade. I’m gonna call it what it is. I’ll always shoot ya straight when we are looking at products. A magnesium block is a metal that burns very hot and very high temperature, very fast. So I take the blade part and I scrape some of the magnesium off into my tinder bundle. Then I turn around and hit my striker. These are about 12 bucks. Neat little product.”

“Then we move down to a 9 Volt battery and steel wool. We’ve used this many times before. Am I gonna carry this in my pocket instead of a light? No I won’t, but it’s a neat little system, the good thing about this is I can wrap my tinder bundle around the steel wool and with the steel wool you want to open it up. Almost bird nesting to get plenty of oxygen in here and take your 9 volt battery and drag it across and if I’ve got this in a tinder bundle then I can start nurturing my tinder bundle. I can get some oxygen to it, blowing on it and I can use this to start my fire. So that is a really neat application if you’re in a wet environment. It always works.”

“Then some of the commercial stuff. Coleman has a strike fire starter and we’ve used these before. This takes the place of the tinder bundle. Now they’ve put a match head on it. I mean, what will Coleman come up with next. Strike pads on the back, drag this thing across. Boom! There ya go! So it’s a match on a tinder bundle. How great is that? Another great product put out by Coleman.”

“So these are just some of the stuff that we use out in the field. There is a lot of stuff out there and the reason we do this is to give you an idea of what’s on the market and some of the stuff we use and try that you can go ahead and start shopping for to put in your bag now. Later on in some other episodes we’ll start doing some of the primitive stuff. How to use a bow drill, a cauldron, a ladle and stuff like that. Make sure you shop around. Try to have at least two systems. Don’t limit yourself to just one.”

“As always, thanks for watching and make sure to subscribe to our channel. Thank you.”

CampMaid Dutch Oven Solutions ...This is brilliant!

Skills That Every Prepper Should Know Pt 3

Skills That Every Prepper Should Know Pt 3

EP: “Welcome to Ethical Preparedness. In this segment of the video series we will be talking about another skill set that every preparedness minded person should know and that is how to defend yourself. Instead of giving a generic explanation of how, knowing how to defend yourself is important to preppers I’m gonna bring up some really good points that most people don’t realize they should be thinking about. So if you want some things to consider that you very may well have never even heard about before regarding self-defense, I really urge you to watch this video.”

“If you haven’t seen any of the other videos in this series, they will be titled Skill Sets That Every Person Should Know Pt 1 or 2.”

“But first, always remember, you are ultimately responsible for protecting yourself and for providing for yourself. Live your life with honor and integrity. And always be the wolf hunter; don’t be the sheep. Nor the wolf.”

“Now, I want to start off with that every use of force, especially deadly use of force, should always be a LAST resort and NOT a convenient option. This means that if you have to use deadly force it is because you believed that you absolutely had to and not just because it was a convenient route to take.”

“Also, only use deadly force against someone to save a life. Not just to take a life. This means that you only use deadly force to keep an innocent person OR yourself from being seriously maimed, raped or killed by a bad guy. And you’re not doing this to exact revenge or to teach someone a lesson.”

“I am a big believer if we have a true SHTF grid down situation or economic collapse or anything like that, that violence and danger will become an everyday part of our lives. As people who failed to prep start to see their children suffering from hunger they’re more likely than not to start to resort to whatever means they have to go through to keep their child or loved one from dying from hunger.”

“Do you know for certain that you could bring yourself to use deadly force against someone trying to harm you or your family? Or do you just imagine that you could? Do you prepare yourself mentally for the possibility of this? Do you train with your weapons? And I mean GOOD training. Shooting and movement type of training. Not just your standard  point and shoot at a cardboard target type of training.”

“Have you ever considered how you may react if you do have to shoot someone. Many people react in different ways after they killed someone in self-defense. Some people react in elation. Not because they got to kill someone but because they faced a deadly encounter and they survived to see their family again. Then some people almost immediately become overcome with grief and guilt about what they were forced to do. While some people may never fully, mentally recover from having to kill someone else, some go about their business saying it was either me or him. If you just quickly think that you can just brush off killing another human being and go about your business like nothing happened you really need to stop and do some real soul searching and think about it.”

“You need to prepare that you may have guilt or depression about what you were forced to do. You need to prepare yourself that you may second guess yourself to death wondering if you could have handled the situation differently. You also have to realize that other people will second guess your actions too, adding to you questioning yourself even more. Even if it were a clear cut self-defense situation.”

“The more you learn about the average humans emotional reactions. I’m talking about the emotional reactions that you will have that will take place over the minutes, the hours, the days, the weeks and the months after you’ve been forced to kill someone. The better you learn about these emotional reactions the better you’ll be prepared to deal with those emotions should you find yourself in this situations.”

“You may also want to study more on the human body’s reaction to an actual life or death situation. When you’re forced or put or face a life or death situation. Many people have auditory exclusion. They absolutely do not hear what is going on around them. There have been many a police officer that have been involved in police action shooting that stated after the shooting was over and they told what they remembered of the situation when it happened was that they never even heard the gun shoots when they were firing their gun. The way they realized their gun was actually firing was not because they heard the shots but because they smelled the burned gun powder in the air. So people will think they fired only one or two or three shots and then when they investigation happened and the investigation is over with, the investigation shows they fired their whole magazine when the person only thought they fired their gun a few times. The reality is that people will pull the guns trigger until they went throw the oodleloop and realize the threat has stopped. When somebody is faced with an emanate and deadly threat and they are thinking they are about to die, a person can pull a trigger many times without realizing it because they are focused on saving their butt and they’re focused on the threat.”

“Now I have seen many a keyboard command on the internet talking about how they don’t understand how a cop or somebody else can shoot a bad guy and only hit them once. I don’t think these keyboard commandos truly understand the dynamics behind a deadly force encounter and how fluid and rapidly changing these events are. I don’t think they truly understand a body’s reaction to these situations and how our body goes into fight or flight. They also don’t understand how our eyes will become pin pointed and cause tunnel vision and how our hands naturally want to ball up to become impact weapons. How we have auditory exclusion because our other sense are taking over as our fight or flight reaction begins taking over.”

“I think these keyboard commands are Hollywood educated and they don’t know what reality is. I think they envision the bad guy standing 20 ft away and will be standing still like their card board target does at the range. Then having time to take careful aim and pull their weapon and take careful aim before they fire. I believe that another person can never judge another person’s reaction to a deadly force situation unless they were in those people’s shoes when it happened or unless they had had the same exact situation happen to them in the past. Until they have experienced a deadly encounter they just can’t truly and totally comprehend or appreciate what that person was going through emotionally and physically during a deadly force situation. “

“So the next question is do you practice shooting at moving targets? Targets that are both moving from side to side or coming at you. Do you practice while YOU are moving? You need to train yourself to move so you don’t make yourself such an easy target. At least start moving towards cover. The reality is that a bad guy is not going to be courteous and stand still for you like the cardboard target at the range. He will be moving and trying not to get shoot and probably be coming at you with his weapon.”

“Do you train to give voice commands as you pull your weapon? You want voice commands and movement while you shoot to become motor muscle memory. That you just automatically do it. You know like our mouths automatically open when a fork is near it, you want the same thing to happen with you when you pull your weapon. With voice commands, besides letting the bad guy know you’re not going to be an easy victim and besides letting him know what is in store for him if he doesn’t rethink his actions towards you. Giving loud voice commands may create witnesses. These witnesses may not have actually saw what happened, but having them testify that they heard you yell a command to the bad guy for him to stop or drop his weapon will help solidify your account of what happened. You want the truth of what happened, the truth that you were forced to protect yourself the truth that you weren’t a willing combatant to be known to the world and the use of voice commands is another tool to help you with this.”

“Also, speaking of Hollywood education, people that are educated by Hollywood. Are you prepared that if you shoot someone that more than likely they will NOT immediately fall down dead like they do on TV? Are you aware that handgun rounds are horrible people stoppers and the real fact that there is a chance the bad guy may remain at attacking you until he starts to succumb to his wounds even after you shot him? Are you prepared for the real fact that until the bad guy dies from his wounds that he might ride the ground screaming in pain and agony until he does pass? Or how about if the bad guy runs away after you shot him and now you don’t know if you have a dead bad guy lying dead somewhere around your property or if you just have a wounded and now very angry bad guy out there in the darkness?”

“Think about it. When we shoot a deer that many of times is smaller than an average adult male. We shoot that deer with a large rifle rounds and they usually run a few hundred yards before they succumb to that rifle shot. So now you take a possibly larger man and if you’re forced to shoot him with a much smaller round, how long will he go on with his attack against you or how long will he run before he succumbs to that hand gun round?”

“Also, if you are forced to kill someone in a SHTF situation, there is a good chance it will be at night and it will be a neighbor or neighbor’s kid. Many people don’t understand how darkness and fear plays with your eyes and what you perceive at that moment. A neighbor kid may be stealing from you at night and when you confront him you may believe that you saw something in his hands and shoot him and while it could very well be that he had a gun in his hands, or could be that he had nothing or a tool like a crow bar or a hammer or whatever he used to break into your shed or house or whatever.. And if you shoot someone that had anything less than a gun or a knife in his hands, even if he attacks you with that hammer or crow bar, people will not understand how that tool is able to be used as a weapon and will be calling for your head. If you are forced to shoot a neighbor or his kid, are you prepared to deal with the remaining family member’s? What are the chances they will want vengeance on you? Now if this is a normal life you will get law suits done against you. If it is post SHTF, his family will want to take physical vengeance on you.”

“So if this is post SHTF, will you end up being forced to evacuate your home due to the fact that your vigilance would have to be so high that you know you could not go to sleep without waking up to your throat being slit by the dead kids family member. Also, you and your group should consider how you’ll record any use of forced actions that you take. You always have to remember that things will come back to normal. Or your area could set up a form of government sooner than people realize. If that happens you should consider the fact that this newly formed government might start investigating violent incidences that happen during the WROL time period. Having what happened recorded and the names of witnesses may save your butt should the person you had to kill has a family member that wants to get revenge on you by lying about what happened.”

“Also, do you train with weapons other than just guns? Do you train with edge or impact weapons? Do you carry back up weapons? What if you’re knocked down or pinned down and can’t reach the gun? Do you have a secondary weapon on your body strategically placed so you can reach it if you can’t reach your primary self-defense weapon? Do you practice drawing your weapon on an almost daily basis. You should practice it so much that it becomes motor muscle memory. How quickly can you deploy your fire arm?”

“Anyway folks, if you found this video to be informative please subscribe to this channel as I will be making more videos on these skill sets. I will also be making many more videos on matters that deal with preparedness and self-reliance. Again folks I am not trying to pass myself off as a expert prepper or expert in self-defense, I am just trying to pass on any knowledge that I’ve learned to people that may want it. If you’ve made it this far, thank you very much for watching and have a good night.”

My EDC Bag

Angry Prepper: “Hello You Tubers, this is the Angry Prepper.What you guys are staring out is my EDC. I know some of you are thinking, “This is a very big EDC Bag”, but I also carry other items such as my lap top & paper work for my business. I also carry books in there. Mainly survival books because you are always learning something new in this field. So having an EDC comes in handy pretty much no matter where you live , but I find that living here in the city it is of great value. Using the trade center just as an example, a lot of people had to walk home. So with that, having an EDC with a water bottle in it and a flash light for those who were walking a long distance or no flashlight for those stuck in a tunnel would of came in handy. The medical kit, the little black square object you see there, would of also came in handy on a day like that. So my suggestion is that everybody should get some kind of every day carry together. Whether it is a little square pouch like the medical kit you see in front of you, a book bag or a bag you have at home or something as big as what I carry.”

“The items you see here are a water bottle, the black medical kit, a flashlight, a folding knife, baby powder. A multi-function, radio flashlight, hand crank device. Which is the black and green made by Eton. It’s called a scorpion. I also carry a collapsible baton for either self defense or should you need to break a window or two to get out of a situation. Anyways, an EDC bag doesn’t have to be this big. You should modify to your needs.”

“I hope you guys enjoyed this short video. 

Pet Preparedness in a Disaster

Everybody should have an emergency plan in the event of unforeseen disaster. And if you’re a pet owner, your disaster preparedness should consider their health, safety, and well-being as well. It may seem obvious, but not everybody thinks of it. So here’s a list of tips for pet owners to consider when making emergency preparedness plans. 

Any emergency preparedness plan involves starting at the beginning, which is to say, consider based on climate, topography, and geography, which types of disasters are most likely, and plan accordingly. For example, if you live in an area that is prone to certain natural disasters, such as tornadoes, earthquakes or floods, the majority of your preparations should be specific to those kinds of events. In many cases the safest thing to do in an emergency is to stay home so let’s consider some tips for ensuring safety in the home.

Being prepared in the home

• Determine the most structurally sound buildings and make those your safe havens. These will be rooms that are free of hazards such as windows, and excessive shelves along the walls.
• Utility rooms, bathrooms and basements are typically good safe zones because they are easy to clean and they offer access to water, provided that plumbing systems aren’t compromised. Access to fresh water is important.
• If flooding is one of the more likely disasters in your area, pick the highest location in your home as a safe haven. Either that or a room with access to counters or high shelves where pets can take refuge.

Be able to identify your pet in case something happens

• If your pet is lost in the chaos of an emergency, his or her ID tags are their ticket home. Make sure all tags are up-to-date and securely fastened to their collar. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site. Also consider micro-chipping your pets.
• Keep a current photo of your pet in your emergency essentials kit.
• Included your cell phone number on your pet’s personalized collar or tags

You’re the caretaker so an emergency for you is an emergency for them

Not only is it important for you to prepare your own emergency food storage, and supplies, it’s also important to prepare an emergency kit specific to your pets needs, like a blanket made of fleece fabric for them to sleep on. Here are a few other items you might want to include: 

Pet food

Bottled water

Medications

Veterinary records

Cat litter/pan

Manual can opener

Food dishes

First aid kit and other medical supplies

Find a place to stay in advance

When an emergency occurs, public health concerns take precedence over most other things. Sometimes those public health concerns mean pets are excluded from consideration. That’s why it’s important to identify a place to stay in advance. Some emergency shelters are not allowed to accept pets as occupants. Here are some tips to consider. 

• Locate motels and hotels in your immediate area that allow pets well in advance of needing them. There are guides that list hotels and motels according to which ones are pet-friendly. 
• Include your local animal shelter in your list of emergency numbers. 
• Keep a secure pet carrier on hand, as well as a leash and/or harness to make sure they can’t escape if they panic. 

After the disaster

Pets continue to need special care even after the disaster is over. If the disaster forces you to leave town, you must take your pets with you. They aren’t likely to survive on their own. In the aftermath, pets may be a little rattled for a while and their behavior may change. But, as long as you leash them when they go outside, always maintain close contact while they reacquaint themselves with their environment, and make sure they steer clear of any new hazards they may encounter due to changes caused by the disaster, they should recover in no time at all.

Weathering the Storm: Preparedness Essentials

Even though people living in areas exposed and often afflicted by hurricanes and tornado’s generally are aware of all the precautionary measures, people still do tend to lose lives in these disastrous situations. This is why we’ve come up with an article outlining all the necessary preparations for weathering a storm.

Food and Water

To start with the most basic of needs, the problem here doesn’t necessarily lie only during the timeline of an actual storm, but for days of craze and distortion that ensue afterwards. Here is what you’ll undoubtedly need:

• One gallon of water per person per day, to last three days at the very least, not only for drinking, but sanitation and other needs, as well.
• Peanut butter – this product is quite long-lasting
• Protein bars
• Fruit – you’ll need your vitamins, especially in potentially exhausting situations such as this
• Canned food, such as fruits, vegetables, meats (tuna), canned beans, etc.
• Canned juices – this is a great source of sugar, as well as liquid that your body might need
• Crackers – yet another type of food that can last for ages
• Non-perishable milk
• Dry cereal
• Other foods that do not require refrigeration or cooking

First Aid Kit

This, of course goes without saying, seeing as how injuries are a frequent occurrence in situations such as that of a storm. Emergency services will probably be overwhelmed, perhaps even physically unable to reach you. Even minor injuries can cause sepsis and further complications, if not treated within a reasonable time period. Here are your basic first aid essentials:

• Sterile gloves – you wouldn’t want to suffer bacterial infections, especially in instances such as this type of a disaster
• Sterile dressings, quality adhesive bandages
• Antibiotics – whether it’s ointments, or pills, supplements that prevent bacterial infections are of vast importance here.
• Prescription medications – you need to have reserves of necessary pharmaceuticals that you or your family members might potentially require. These include insulin, heart medicine, asthma inhalers (you wouldn’t believe how easy these are to misplace, so you better have at least a couple of these stockpiled within your first aid cabinet).
• Tools such as tweezers and scissors – not only are these absolutely necessary for first aid purposes, but might come in handy for a plethora of impromptu situations
• A whistle – ridiculous as it may sound, these items can turn out to be real life savers – no one laughs at a whistle sound during or after huge storms, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to an observer
• Towels – these have a wide variety of utilization abilities, from preventing bleeding out, to drying off, in order to avoid hypothermia.
• Garbage bags
• When it comes to infants, you’ll need a large number of diapers, to avoid risking infection, as well as an instant formula, for obvious reasons.
• It is smart to have pliers and a wrench, if nothing, than so as to be able to turn off utilities, such as pipes, or age-old electrical equipment.
• Complete change of clothing, enough to last at least 3 days.
• A fire extinguisher for cases of electrical surges
• Matches in a waterproof container

 Other Paraphernalia

• Generators
• Portable toilets
• Fuel tanks – There are many diesel fuel tanks available out there, so make sure you have this covered
• Cook stoves
• Batteries (it is smart to have these in all sizes available)
• Flashlights
• Duct tape
• Candles
• Sleeping bags
• Rubber boots

These cover most of your essential needs for a storm, as well as other types of a disaster. Make sure you have all these covered and thus insure you remain safe and healthy. Of course, a bit of extra consideration might go a long way in helping you weather the worst of weather conditions out there, so feel free to add a couple of your own ideas to the list.

Winter solstice 2015: Everything you need to know about the shortest day of the year

Google's new Doodle celebrates the December solstice, marking the longest night and shortest day of the year with the sun at its lowest point in the sky 

What exactly is the winter solstice? 

The December solstice happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth. This year the solstice occured on Tuesday December 22nd at 04:49 GMT (Universal time) with the sun rising over Stonehenge in Wiltshire at 08:04. 

How long to wait until the longest day of the year 2016: 

177	:	00	:	07	:	10
Days		Hrs		Mins		Secs

The winter solstice happens every year when the Sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, when the North Pole is tilted furthest – 23.5 degrees – away from the Sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year. 

The Sun is directly overhead of the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere during the December solstice and is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the year, meaning shorter days and longer nights. 

The shortest day of the year lasts for 7 hours 49 minutes and 41 seconds in Britain. This day is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than on June Solstice. 

The day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days, leading up to the summer solstice in June. 

In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true. Dawn comes early, and dusk comes late. The sun is high and the shortest noontime shadow of the year happens there. In the Southern Hemisphere, people will experience their longest day and shortest night. 

Shouldn't it be on December 21st? 

While it more often than not falls on December 21st, the exact time of the solstice varies each year. 

^{Sunrise between the stones at Stonehenge on the Winter Solstice in 1985 Photo: Mark Grant}

In the Northern hemisphere the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, because it is tilted away from the sun, and receives the least amount of sunlight on that day. 

However, the earliest sunset does not occur on the solstice, because of the slight discrepancy between 'solar time' and the clocks we use. 

The shortest day of the year often falls on December 21st, but the modern calendar of 365 days a year - with an extra day every four years - does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days. 

The solstice can happen on December 20, 21, 22 or 23, though December 20 or 23 solstices are rare. 

The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not happen again until 2303. 

Why do people descend on Stonehenge for the winter solstice? 

Scores arrive at the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire to mark the shortest day of the year. Why is the site so important? 

^{People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire on the Winter Solstice to witness the sunrise on the shortest day of the year (Eddie Mulholland/The Telegraph)} 

Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire, is carefully aligned on a sight-line that points to the winter solstice sunset (opposed to New Grange, which points to the winter solstice sunrise, and the Goseck circle, which is aligned to both the sunset and sunrise). 

Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC and it is thought that the winter solstice was actually more important to the people who constructed Stonehenge than the Summer solstice. 

The winter solstice was a time when cattle was slaughtered (so the animals would not have to be fed during the winter) and the majority of wine and beer was finally fermented. 

The only other megalithic monuments in the British Isles which clearly align with the sun are Newgrange in County Meath, Ireland and Maeshowe situated on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. 

Both famously face the winter solstice sunrise. 

^{Game of Stones: Some new-age types at the 'Henge (Eddie Mulholland)}

Keep up, Druids... 

In 2009, a crowd wearing traditional costume, met at Stonehenge on December 21st morning to mark the rising of the sun on the shortest day of the year. 

But unfortunately their calculations were slightly out meaning they had in fact arrived 24 hours prematurely. 

• Revellers celebrate the 2014 winter solstice at Stonehenge

The '09 solstice fell at exactly 5.47pm that day, and because the sun had already set, the official celebrations should have taken place at sunrise the next day. 

^{Arthur Pendragon during the winter solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire Photo: PA}

English Heritage, who manage the ancient site in Wiltshire, decided to open the gates anyway and welcome those who had made a miscalculation. 

A spokesman for English Heritage said at the time: "About 300 people turned up a day early. We took pity on them and opened the stone circle so they could celebrate anyway. They were a day early but no doubt had a wonderful time as well. 

"People always assume that because the Summer solstice is the June 21st, the winter solstice will be the 21st December. They should always check because it does change." 

Pagan leader Arthur Pendragon said: "It is the most important day of the year for us because it welcomes in the new sun. 

"There were hundreds of people there. If we'd celebrated on the 21st it would have been the right day but the wrong sun – when the whole point of the occasion is about welcoming in the new sun." 

Why isn’t the earliest sunset on the year’s shortest day? 

Solar noon - the time midway between sunrise and sunset is when the sun reaches its highest point for the day, but the exact time of solar noon, as measured by Earth’s spin, shifts. 

A clock ticks off exactly 24 hours from one noon to the next but actual days – as measured by the spin of the Earth – are rarely exactly 24 hours long. 

^{Winter Solstice by Barbara Hepworth (1970)}

If the Earth’s spin is measured from one solar noon to the next, then one finds that around the time of the December solstice, the time period between consecutive solar noons is actually 30 seconds longer than 24 hours. 

Therefore two weeks before the solstice, for example – the sun reaches its 'noontime' position at 11:52 a.m. local standard time. 

Two weeks later - on the winter solstice – the sun reached that noontime position at 11:59 a.m. - seven minutes later. 

The later clock time for solar noon also means a later clock time for sunrise and sunset. The result? Earlier sunsets before the winter solstice andincreasingly later sunrises for a few weeks after the winter solstice. 

The exact date of earliest sunset varies with latitude but the sequence is always the same. 

For the Northern Hemisphere the earliest sunset occurs in early December and the latest sunrise in happens in early January. This year earliest sunset was on 13 December and the latest sunrise on 31 December. 

What does 'solstice' mean? 

The term 'solstice' derives from the Latin word 'solstitium', meaning 'Sun standing still'. 

On this day the Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction as it reaches its southernmost position as seen from the Earth. 

Some prefer the more teutonic term 'sunturn' to descibe the event. 

There's a Google's Doodle... 

To mark the solstice, Google has done a special Doodle of ice skaters in a snow globe that can be viewed by several countries, including most of Europe, Canada, Mexico, Colombia and Japan. 

How can I best watch the solstice where I live? 

There's no need to travel out of town to see the sunrise. 

^{Photo: http://sztanko.github.io/}

This handy website shows the streets in cities around the world where you can get a clear view of the sun rising on the morning of the solstice. 

How was/is the solstice celebrated around the world? 

The December solstice marks the 'turning of the Sun' as the days slowly get longer. Celebrations of the lighter days to come have been common throughout history with feasts, festivals and holidays around the December solstice celebrated by cultures across the globe. 

Saturnalia 

The winter solstice festival Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for seven days in In Ancient Rome. 

These Saturnalian banquets were held from as far back as around 217 BCE to honor Saturn, the father of the gods. 

The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms. 

The festival was characterised as a free-for-all when all discipline and orderly behaviour was ignored. 

Wars were interrupted or postponed, gambling was permitted, slaves were served by their masters and all grudges and quarrels were forgotten. 

^{Saturnalia by Antoine-Francois Callet (1741-1823) Photo: Oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre}

It was traditional to offer gifts of imitation fruit (a symbol of fertility), dolls (symbolic of the custom of human sacrifice), and candles (reminiscent of the bonfires traditionally associated with pagan solstice celebrations). 

The Saturnalia would degenerate into a week-long orgy of debauchery and crime – giving rise to the modern use of the term 'saturnalia', meaning a period of unrestrained license and revelry. A mock 'king' was even chosen from a group of slaves or convicts and was allowed to behave as he pleased for seven days (until his eventual ritual execution). 

The poet Catullus considered it to be "the best of days." 

Feast of Juul 

The Feast of Juul (where we get the term 'Yule' from at this time of year) was a pre-Christian festival observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December solstice. 

People would light fires to symbolise the heat and light of the returning sun and a Juul (or Yule) log was brought in and dropped in the hearth as a tribute the Norse god Thor. 

The Yule Log often was an entire tree, carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony and sometimes, the largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth, while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room. 

^{The Yule log is introduced to the proceedings}

The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log which had been carefully stored away and often slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. Tradition dictated that the re-lighting process was carried out by someone with clean hands. 

The log was burned until nothing but ash remained. The ashes were then collected and either strewn on the fields as fertilizer every night until Twelfth Night or kept as a charm and or as medicine. 

A piece of the log was kept as both a token of good luck and as kindling for the following year’s log. 

French peasants believed that if the ashes were kept under the bed, they would protect the house against thunder and lightning. The present-day custom of lighting a Yule log at Christmas is believed to have originated in the bonfires associated with the feast of Juul. 

Yalda 

Yalda or Shab-e Chelleh ('night of forty') is an Iranian festival celebrated on the "longest and darkest night of the year," i.e. the night of the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice. 

Every year, on December 21st, Iranians celebrate the arrival of winter, the renewal of the sun and the victory of light over darkness on Yalda Night. 

Ancient Iranians believed that the dawning of each year is marked with the re-emergence or rebirth of the sun, an event which falls on the first day of the month of Dey in the Iranian calendar (December 21). 

On this day, the sun was salvaged from the claws of the devil, which is represented by darkness, and gradually spread its rays all over the world to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.Family members get together (most often in the house of the eldest member) and stay awake all night long in Yalda. 

^{Photo: Saman Aghvami}

Pomegranate, watermelon and dried nuts are served as a tradition and classic poetry and old mythologies are read in the gathering. 

It is believed that eating watermelons on the night of Chelleh will ensure the health and well-being of the individual during the months of summer by protecting him from falling victim to excessive heat or disease. 

In Khorasan, there is a belief that whoever eats carrots, pears, pomegranates, and green olives will be protected against the harmful bite of insects, especially scorpions. Eating garlic on this night protects one against pains in the joints. 

Getting a ‘Hafez reading’ from the book of great Persian poet Shamsu d-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi is also practiced. 

Another custom performed in certain parts of Iran on the night of Chelleh involves young engaged couples. The men send an edible arrangement containing seven kinds of fruits and a variety of gifts to their fiancees on this night. 

In some areas, the girl and her family return the favour by sending gifts back for the young man. 

Central Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and some Caucasian states such as Azerbaijan and Armenia share the same tradition as well and celebrate Yalda Night annually at this time of the year. 

Santo Tomas in Guatemala 

December 21 in St Thomas's Day in the Christian calendar. In Guatemala on this day, Mayan Indians indulge in the ritual known as the Palo Volador, or “flying pole dance”. 

Three men climb on top of a 50-foot pole as one of them beats a drum and plays a flute. The other two men wind a rope attached to the pole around one foot and jump. 

^{Mayan Indians take part in the Palo Volador in Guatemala Photo: Alamy} 

If they land on their feet, it is believed that the sun god will be pleased and that the days will start getting longer. 

The ancient Incas celebrated a special festival to honour the sun god at the time of the December solstice. 

In the 16th century ceremonies were banned by the Roman Catholics in their bid to convert the Inca people to Christianity. 

A local group of Quecia Indians in Cusco, Peru, revived the festival in the 1950s. It is now a major festival that begins in Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheatre a few miles away.