Tiltmas is the science-based celebration for those that wish to be part of the December holiday season, but who do not wish to follow religious holidays, but yet want something more than celebrating the commercial gains of local stores.
Tiltmas is named to trace the root of the holiday back to its origins in science, even though the early celebrants had no idea about that kind of thing.
Christmas is celebrated in December, as it was overlayed ontop of the pagan Yule celebration. Now Yule was celebrated because it was midwinter. Midwinter is caused by the axial tilt of our planet, and so, the root of Christmas, in science, is Tiltmas!
Tiltmas is ideal for anyone with no religious beliefs who wish to still have something to celebrate among their religious friends and relatives. On the other hand, those religious people who have atheist or agnostic friends and relatives, why not point them to Tiltmas, so that you all have something to celebrate together, and which takes advantage of the commercialism on offer in December.
Tiltmas can officially be celebrated at any time between the middle and the end of December, thus allowing it to be celebrated among any group that celebrates a December holiday. However it is properly celebrated on the moment of the December solstice, which is usually on either the 21st or 22nd of December.
While Tiltmas is celebrated every year there are certain Tiltmas celebrations that are more significant.
Tiltmas over the next few years will be at the following times.
| Year | Solstice | Perihelion | Aphelion | Celebration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2015-12-22 04:47 | 2016-01-03 01:11 | 2015-07-06 12:53 | Dec 22nd is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2016 | 2016-12-21 10:36 | 2017-01-04 10:56 | 2016-07-04 15:56 | Dec 21st is a Tiltmas |
| 2017 | 2017-12-21 16:26 | 2018-01-03 03:16 | 2017-07-04 00:55 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2018 | 2018-12-21 22:15 | 2019-01-03 09:33 | 2018-07-06 16:14 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2019 | 2019-12-22 04:05 | 2020-01-05 09:41 | 2019-07-04 18:33 | Dec 22nd is a Tiltmas |
| 2020 | 2020-12-21 09:24 | 2021-01-02 08:47 | 2020-07-04 14:50 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2021 | 2021-12-21 15:44 | 2022-01-04 01:15 | 2021-07-06 02:31 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2022 | 2022-12-21 21:34 | 2023-01-04 20:05 | 2022-07-04 02:44 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2023 | 2023-12-22 03:23 | 2024-01-03 00:05 | 2023-07-06 09:01 | Dec 22nd is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2024 | 2024-12-21 09:13 | 2025-01-04 13:28 | 2024-07-05 05:06 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
| 2025 | 2025-12-21 15:02 | 2026-01-03 17:16 | 2025-07-03 19:55 | Dec 21st is a Greater Tiltmas |
We are currently entering a period of Greater Tiltmas. It is expexted that for aproximately the next 1,600 years, most Tiltmas's will be Greater. The first Grand Tiltmas is expected to be around the year 2850, and there is a 1 in 25 chance of an Ultimate Tiltmas around the year 2917, which will be a rare event inded. Ultimate Tiltmas happens only once every 525,600 years. The next Zero Tiltmas has a 1 in 25 chance of happening around the year 13,290
You should note that Lesser, Minor, and Zero Tiltmas's are not any less significant, their names simply refer to the Solar distance in these years.
Of course, while these are the official Tiltmas, you should celebrate Tiltmas with your friends and relatives at whatever time they celebrate their winter holidays.
The 2013 Tiltmas website has been generously redesigned by Hilde Bakering-Pilkington, but we're always looking for improvements. If you have any suggestions, please send us some updated HTML, and if we like it, we'll update it!