Midwinter is the middle of winter, the period when the season is at its coldest and darkest. In the Northern Hemisphere, midwinter falls around late December or early January, when the days are shortest and the nights are longest. A midwinter snowstorm might arrive in January, when winter has fully settled in but spring still feels far away.

The word captures that deep, dark stretch of winter when summer seems like a distant memory. Farmers in earlier times paid close attention to midwinter because it marked a turning point: after the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year), each day would gradually grow a tiny bit longer, even though the coldest weather often hadn't arrived yet.

Many cultures celebrate festivals around midwinter, perhaps because people needed something cheerful during the darkest time of year. Christmas falls near midwinter in the Northern Hemisphere, as do other festivals of light, like Hanukkah. These celebrations brought communities together when the world outside was cold and forbidding.

You might read about a midwinter night in a story, suggesting a time of deep cold and darkness. Or a midwinter thaw, describing those surprising warm days that occasionally appear in January or February, offering a brief taste of spring before winter returns.