Winter Solstice 2015: why no Google Doodle for India?

Google is marking the shortest day of the year with a Doodle in the Northern Hemisphere. The trademark solstice doodle appears on Google homepage in the countries situated above the zero degree latitude called the Equator.

The Doodle depicts two happy ice-skaters gliding around a snow globe, depicting cold and snowy winter.

The solstice occurs at the same time for everyone across the globe and this year's starts at at 4:49am GMT on 22 December.

Why not for India?

Well, this question arises here because India lies in the Northern Hemisphere. And going by this logic, we should have got a chance a enjoy a Doodle.

It is still unclear why there's no doodle for India. Google, you may want to comment on this...

What is Winter Solstice?

The solstice is commonly used to refer to the longest or shortest day of the year. Though it's more accurately described by its astronomical definition. In technical terms, the Solstice occurs when, due to the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun.

The Independent explains, "For those in the Northern Hemisphere, that means less of the Earth's area is covered by the Sun during the day, and when the solstice comes around, the day becomes the shortest of the year."

Why on 22nd in 2015?

Usually, the Winter Solstice falls on 21st December every year, but this year it's on the 22nd, and yes there's a reason too. The time may vary each year, and given a slight discrepancy in the time that we use and the solar time - a variation which is rectified every four years, when a leap year occurs and we get an extra day on the calendar.