It's the longest night in the northern hemisphere, shortest night (longest day) in the southern hemisphere. It's the other way around on June 21.
It's actually the historical reason why Christmas is on Dec 25. The Holy Roman Empire, in its attempt to convert the barbarians in the north (northern Europe, from Germany northward) took the winter solstice celebration and essentially overlaid the birth of Jesus onto that date (even though Jesus almost certainly was not born in December according to current research). That's why there are so crazy many pagan rituals still associated with Christmas (the lighting of a tree, for instance). The date is off by a few days probable due to a mis-calculation when the holiday appropriation occurred.
I voted yes, only because the spirit of this holiday is part of my winter celebration, even though I am an Athiest (the Winter Solstice is, after all, a naturally occurring event worth celebration in that sense).
