Glimmer of Sunset on Hwy 1
I know I usually post my blogs on Monday but today is a special day. A day to celebrate!
It seems an oxymoron, that for me, the most depressing day of the year is around June 21st; when it is sunny and warm. It would seem even more so that the most uplifting day of the year for me is around December 21st; when it is cold and dark early. Why do these two days have such an effect on me? What is the significance?
Well the June solstice usually happens around June 21st. While it is warm and sunny and will be that way for months to come it is the Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. The next day will be shorter and the next day even shorter. Winter is coming closer day by day. Bummer.
Somewhere around December 21st is the Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year. So why celebrate that? Why, because the next day will be longer, and the day after that even longer. Summer is coming closer day by day. It is a ray of hope in cold dreary days of winter. Hurrah!
Here are 10 things to know about the Winter Solstice, from timeanddate.com:
In the Northern Hemisphere, the December Solstice is the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.
Most people count the whole day as the December Solstice. However, the Solstice is actually at a specific moment - when the Sun is exactly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn.
In 2016, the December Solstice is on December 21, at 10:44 UTC. Due to the Time Zone difference, some locations will have their solstice on a different date.Solstices happen twice a year - once around June 21 and then again around December 21. On the June Solstice, the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23° 30′ North) in the Northern Hemisphere, while on the December Solstice, the Sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn (latitude 23° 30′ South) in the Southern Hemisphere.
The December Solstice can happen on December 20, 21, 22 or 23, though December 20 or 23 solstices are rare. The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not happen again until 2303.
The term solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, meaning 'the Sun stands still'. This is because on this day, the Sun reaches its southern-most position as seen from the Earth. The Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction. It's also common to call it the day the Sun turns around.
In the Northern Hemisphere, astronomers and scientists use the December Solstice as the start of the winter season, which ends on the March Equinox. For meteorologists, on the other hand, winter began three weeks ago on December 1.
During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is actually closest to the Sun. Different seasons are not defined by how far the Earth is from the Sun. Seasons occur because Earth orbits the Sun on a slant, with an axial tilt of around 23.4 degrees. Therefore different amounts of sunlight reaches the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, causing variation in temperatures and weather patterns throughout the year.
In fact, the Earth is on its Perihelion - the point on the Earth's orbit closest to the Sun - a few weeks after the December Solstice.Most places in the Northern Hemisphere see their earliest sunset a few days before the Solstice and their latest sunrise a few days after the Solstice. This happens because of the difference between how we measure time using watches and the time measured by a sundial.
If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the increase rate of daylight hours depends on your location's latitude - in more northern latitudes you will see a rapid increase in daylight hours compared to if you're in the more southern latitudes.
Many cultures around the world hold feasts and celebrate holidays around the December Solstice.
Sunset on the Table Lands just North of Bishop
So tonight, December 21st I am going out to celebrate the shortest day of the year knowing tomorrow will be a longer day! Summer is coming...