Winter Solstice

It's December 21, 2006 and the Winter Solstice. This is the shortest day of the year and it's a new moon also. That means no moonlight. Many cultures have celebrated or continue to celebrate this day in a variety of ways.

http://www.winbuzz.com/

Some examples are:

The Dōngzhì Festival or The Winter Solstice Festival(Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is an important festival celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term.

Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Scandinavian Norse mythology and Germanic pagans.

Yaldā also known as Shab-e Cheleh is celebrated on the eve of the first day of the winter (21th December) in the Iranian calendar, which falls on the Winter Solstice. It celebrates the birth of Sun god Mithra.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Solstice_Celebrations