While the snowflakes, holiday lights and cold temps suggest otherwise, the season does not begin until the winter solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21.

The winter solstice is the precise moment when the sun appears farthest south in the sky. This year’s solstice is at 3:21 a.m. CT in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.

It marks the shortest day of the year, with the fewest hours of possible sunlight and the most hours of darkness.

With days set to lengthen, the winter solstice is often seen as a time of renewal in different cultures.

In Minnesota, there are several winter festivals and wellness-related events taking place to help commemorate the season.

“Since pagan days, solstice has traditionally meant the ‘year as reborn,’ with ancient and modern Scandinavians fusing it into the longer ‘Jul’ or Yule season,” according to the American Swedish Institute, which holds a popular annual event each winter solstice.

Here are a handful of solstice events happening around the Twin Cities:

The Bell Museum: Celebrate the sun’s “rebirth,” and observe the sun through telescopes outside the museum from noon to 2 p.m. Other winter programming including a signs of the seasons exhibit and winter walk are ongoing.

WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.

The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.

It’s a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. Just last month, members voted along party lines to not release the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while Gaetz was in office.

Democrats had pressing to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrew as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican vote against it.

Gaetz lashed out Wedneday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticized the committee for its move after he had left Congress, saying he would have ”no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”

”It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. ”I live a different life now.”

Most Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent.

While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare.

Officials on Wednesday identified the two women who died in a fiery crash when their vehicle collided with another at north Minneapolis intersection.

Esther Jean Fulks, 53, and Rose Elaine Reece, 57, both of Minneapolis, died soon after the wreck late Monday morning at the intersection of N. 26th and Emerson avenues, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Fulks died at the scene, while Reece was declared dead at North Memorial Health Hospital.

Two people in the other vehicle were hospitalized with critical injuries, while a 17-year-old boy waiting at a bus shelter to be picked up for school was hit and taken HCMC with noncritical injuries, police said. Their identities have yet to be released.

Fulks was “a mother of four and very loved in her community!” daughter D’Nia Fulks posted on an online fundraising page started on behalf of the family.

A northbound vehicle on Emerson struck the women’s vehicle as it headed east on 26th, police said. The impact sent the eastbound vehicle into the bus shelter, where it caught fire.

Police said they believe excessive speed played a role in the crash, but they have yet to say which driver was suspected of speeding.