Winter solstice


 * This article is about the celestial event. For the episodes, see Winter Solstice Part 1: The Spirit World and Winter Solstice Part 2: Avatar Roku.



The winter solstice is a natural phenomenon that occurs when the sun is at its greatest angular distance from the equator. It is also the shortest day of the year. In the Avatar World, as the solstice approaches, the line between the natural world and the Spirit World is blurred as the two grow closer together; consequently, during the solstices and equinoxes, the spirits can exert incredible power in the natural world. This is also the ideal time for people to enter the Spirit World, either by their own abilities or by being kidnapped by a spirit.

History


When the winter solstice took place in 99 ASC, Aang had to stop Hei Bai, the Black and White Spirit, from destroying Senlin Village. The spirit was enraged, as the once great Senlin Forest had been burned down by the Fire Nation as a result of battle. Hei Bai had already abducted several villagers proceeded to take Sokka captive. Aang gave chase and was able to grab Sokka's hand just as Hei Bai crossed over to the Spirit World; he unknowingly journeyed along with them as a result. Since his bending abilities didn't work in the Spirit World, he was no longer able to glide and plummeted to the ground where he fell unconscious next to Hei Bai's statue. Once Aang realized he was in the Spirit World, he called out to Avatar Roku for help. Following this event, Fang, Roku's animal guide, appeared and brought Aang to Roku's temple on Crescent Island at the fringe of the Fire Nation. Due to a telepathic connection sustained through his whiskers, the dragon showed Aang that he could contact Roku when the light of the winter solstice touched the eyes of Roku's statue. Aang was returned to the normal world and he proceeded to confront Hei Bai. He succeeded in calming the spirit down by saying that the forest will grow back eventually. As a result, Hei Bai released his hostages and returned to the Spirit World.

After the event, they traveled to the Fire Temple so Aang could meet Roku. On the exact moment of the solstice, the light hit Roku's eyes and they began to glow, enabling Aang to talk to his predecessor. Roku enlightened him of the arrival Sozin's Comet at the end of summer and how it will give all Firebenders the absolute height of power, enough to end the War. As a result of this, Aang was forced to master all four elements by summer's end or else he would not be able to restore balance to the world. By the end of the solstice, Roku assured Aang a safe route out of his temple by manifesting himself through Aang and fending off the threat that awaited him.

154 years prior to the day Avatar Roku manifested through Aang's body and destroyed the Fire Temple, he tried to use the energy from the sun during the winter solstice to aid him in mastering the Avatar State. On the day of the solstice, he aligned his eyes with a beam of light coming from the sun. The method initially proved to be a success, but Roku was stuck in the Avatar State as a result of the overwhelming power he received. He destroyed the top half of the Avatar Temple on Crescent Island, before Fire Sage Kaja was able to remove Roku from the Avatar State by aligning the Avatar's eyes with the winter solstice sun through the gem once more.

Connection
The Dōngzhì Festival or winter solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; The Extreme of Winter) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the Dongzhi solar term.

Escape from the Spirit World

 * Escape from the Spirit World: Avatar Roku Online Comic Book

Trivia

 * The Sun Warriors apparently had a strong spiritual connection to the solstices, seeing as they have a shrine only accessible via a sunstone that would open the door on the solstices. The Fire Sages, whose temples were derived from Sun Warrior culture, also make use of a sunstone.