Forget looking forward to Dec 25th, the day you should really be excited about is Dec 21. If you live in the Northern part of the world you should be very well versed on why, in many ways, Dec 21 is the happiest day of the year. Far out weighing Christmas. In fact, for thousands of years Dec 21 was celebrated all over the world with huge festivals, kissing with tongues, and loud instruments. But if you are still drawing a blank, I'll explain. Dec 21 is the Winter Solstice. Which is just a fancy way of saying it is the SHORTEST day of the year. Everything after Dec 21 is literally longer. And when it gets dark at 4:30pm, you welcome every extra minute you get. So get out the gong and ring Dec 21 in, and quickly out!
Knowing my favorite day was coming, I decided to get some information from the National Research Council's Sunrise/Sunset calendar. After doing a little leg work I have decided my next big day of celebration will be Feb 16. That is the day when the sun will not start to set until 6pm. At that point, I know I will be able to run outside after work again, and that I won't feel like going home straight to bed from work. January, itself looks not too bad, with each day gaining about 1 minute of daylight on each end after the first week.
And if this is all news to you, you either don't live very far North, don't care that it gets dark at 4:30pm, or are just plain oblivious to another reason to raise a glass of wine.
2 comments:
I hear ya! I'm one of the few people who gets upset at the first day of summer [aka summer solstice] because I know it means the days are getting shorter! I will celebrate with you!
You just made my day a little brighter. I can't begin to tell you how much I hate this time change, and the fact that when I get home, it's already dark!
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