How many solstices occur each year?

How many solstices occur each year? Two solstices occur each year.

A solstice happens when the Sun reaches its farthest apparent position north or south of Earth’s celestial equator. The June solstice is the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice and the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice; the December solstice reverses those seasons.

The word “solstice” comes from Latin sol, meaning “Sun,” and sistere, meaning “to stand still.” Near a solstice, the Sun’s daily change in north–south position appears to pause before reversing direction. Solstices are paired with two equinoxes, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, producing four major seasonal markers in a tropical year.

A common mix-up is counting a separate summer and winter solstice for each hemisphere. They are not four independent events: both hemispheres experience the same two astronomical solstices, at opposite seasons. Their dates usually fall around June 20–22 and December 20–22, depending on the calendar and year.