Photo: Winter has finally arrived.

The first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Monday, Dec. 21, at 5:02 a.m. EST.

The first day of meteorological winter began Dec. 1.

The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the year, making it the “shortest day” of the year, coming in at 9 hours and 4 minutes. The sun will rise at 7:11 a.m. and will set at 4:15 p.m.

Looking on the bright side, days begin to again grow longer until the summer solstice, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year.

The downside? The coldest days of the year are still to come, occurring between mid-December and late January.