In the Northern Hemisphere, including India, on which date is the winter solstice generally observed, giving the shortest day and longest night of the year?

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to basic astronomy and geography, dealing with seasons and solstices. The length of day and night varies through the year due to the tilt of the Earth axis. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice marks the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest period of darkness. Exam oriented general knowledge often asks for the approximate calendar date of this event. While the exact date may vary slightly between 21 and 22 December in different years, many school and competitive exam books in India traditionally mention 22 December as the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The context is the Northern Hemisphere, which includes India.
• The question asks for the date of the shortest day of the year.
• Options include two June dates and two December dates.
• We follow the conventional exam answer used in Indian geography texts, which is 22 December.

Concept / Approach:
The Earth axis is tilted at about 23.5 degrees to the plane of its orbit. As a result, during one part of the year the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, giving longer days (summer), and six months later it is tilted away, giving shorter days (winter). The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere typically occurs around 21 or 22 December. In many Indian school textbooks, 21 June is taught as the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and 22 December as the shortest day. Therefore, when faced with such a question in examinations, the safe choice is the December 22 option rather than the June dates or December 21 in this specific pattern.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere refers to the winter solstice. Step 2: Recall that winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs around December, while June corresponds to summer. Step 3: Eliminate both June 21 and June 22, since these are near the summer solstice, not the winter solstice. Step 4: Among the December options, remember that Indian textbooks and GK sources usually label 22 December as the shortest day. Step 5: Choose December 22 as the answer that matches standard exam oriented teaching.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, recall the pair of key solstice dates often memorised together: 21 June as the longest day and 22 December as the shortest day for the Northern Hemisphere. This pairing appears frequently in school level geography chapters and in GK summaries on motions of the Earth. If students keep this pair in mind, they can quickly eliminate the two June options and also select 22 December over 21 December as the more common textbook value for the shortest day in India focused exam literature.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
June 21 is associated with the summer solstice and is considered the longest day, not the shortest day, in the Northern Hemisphere. June 22 is also around the peak of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and does not correspond to the winter solstice. December 21 can be extremely close to the solstice date in some years, but standard Indian exam oriented references usually state 22 December as the shortest day and expect that date in objective questions.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates memorise only that June and December are solstice months but forget which date is associated with which event. Others may recall that 21 June is important and mistakenly choose it for both longest and shortest day questions. There is also confusion between 21 and 22 December due to natural variation in solstice timing. To minimise errors, aspirants should fix a simple mnemonic in mind: longest day 21 June, shortest day 22 December, when answering exams crafted in the familiar Indian school textbook style.

Final Answer:
In standard Indian geography based general knowledge, the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere is generally observed on December 22.