Winter Solstice 2013: Shortest day of the year marked with 'knitted' Google Doodle

December 21 is the year's shortest day and longest night

You might think we had already experienced the first day of winter - but you would be wrong.

Today is officially the first day of this chilly season - or as it is more commonly known, the Winter Solstice. Over the next 24 hours we will see the year's shortest day and longest night.

Thousands of druids are expected to gather at Stonehenge in Somerset to celebrate the event and witness the sun rising in alignment with the site's ancient stones.

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Google has marked the occasion with an animated doodle. Created by German illustrator Christoph Niemann, it shows a scarf and glove being knitted into the shape of the search engine's logo.

But it is not all bleak news because the days will now start to get longer again as the sun moves northwards and spends more time above the horizon.