Countdown

Time until the first day of winter

The December solstice, taken here as 21 December.

Approximate date

Counting down to the first day of winter

Monday, 21 December 2026

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Midnight at the start of Monday, 21 December 2026

Counting from your device clock.

What is the first day of winter?

Astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere begins at the December solstice, the shortest day of the year and the point where daylight starts lengthening again. The instant falls on 21 or 22 December depending on the year, so this countdown uses 21 December as an approximation. Meteorological winter starts on 1 December. The earliest sunset and the latest sunrise do not happen on the solstice itself, which is why evenings begin drawing out before the mornings do.

The next one falls on Monday, 21 December 2026, and this page counts down to the midnight that starts it in whatever time zone your browser reports. For a date of your own, the deadline countdown takes any target and tracks progress against it.

Frequently asked questions

How is this countdown calculated?

The target is midnight at the start of Monday, 21 December 2026, read in your device's own time zone rather than in a fixed one. Two people opening this page in London and Tokyo see different amounts of time left, because their local midnights are nine hours apart. Nothing is sent anywhere: the clock in your browser does the arithmetic.

What happens once the date has passed?

The page rolls to the next occurrence on its own. Every date here is worked out from a rule rather than looked up in a table, so once the first day of winter is behind you the countdown restarts against the following one without anybody updating the site. If you leave the tab open overnight, it rolls over while you watch.

Why does it read zero on the day itself?

The countdown aims at the beginning of the day rather than at any particular hour of it, so it hits zero at midnight and stays there until the day is over. That is the answer most people want from a question like "how many days until the first day of winter", where the honest reply on the day is none.

More countdowns

Time until ChristmasThe 25th of December, the countdown most people are actually running.Time until New Year's Day1 January, the reset everyone measures the year from.Time until Halloween31 October, the night before All Saints' Day.Time until ThanksgivingThe fourth Thursday in November, so the date moves every year.Time until FridayThe next Friday, counted from midnight at the start of the day.Time until the first day of summerThe June solstice, taken here as 20 June.

See every countdown