"Solstice"

"Solstice" is a Latin word, and originally derived from sol sun + status, the past participle of sistere to come to a stop, cause to stand. 

This makes sense if you think about the solstice as the sun's path reaching an endpoint and then turning around and going the other way. During the few days during which this direction change is occurring, it will appear that there is actually no movement at all.

Much can be said about the sensation of perihelion.  There is a huge revving up leading to that time and then a pause (silent night et al.) and then a strong falling away feeling as the acceleration reverses itself and moves away from the sun.  

Its just another way of attributing the coincidental closeness of the winter solstice and the perihelion.  And it is certainly debateable which is the cause, or to what degree the interaction of these 2 events influences any behavior.  

But the evidence that holidays in ancient cultures from around the world coincide and celebrate similar memes (light vs darkness) then it is arguable that the winter holiday 

Persia and Babylon

In Persia and Babylon, the festival was called Sacaea. This appears to be the original tradition in which masters and slaves traded roles and in which one of the slaves was appointed head of the household.

As played out in ancient Babylon, in proper season the king would repair to the temple dedicated to Marduk, be stripped of his insignia by the chief priest and swear that in the past year he had done nothing wrong. The chief priest then would speak for Marduk and re-invest the king with his kingdom. We can see how the priestly class simultaneously protected its power and provided an explanation for terrifying, unexplainable natural events.

Epiphany (holiday)

Epiphany (Greek for "to manifest" or "to show"), is a Christian feast day which celebrates the "shining forth" or revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. The feast falls on January 6. Western Christians commemorate the visitation of the Magi to the child Jesus on this day, i.e., his manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, his manifestation as the Son of God to the world.