Winter Solstice – Things I Didn’t Know

Happy Winter Solstice! My little gift to you is a terrific site I just discovered, though it’s been loved by many for years.  It’s all about the solstice, with lots about its ancient and cross-cultural observance.  At Candlegrove I also found this basic science that blew me away.

"Today brings the Winter Solstice. The actual moment of the Sun’s lowest latitude in the sky is 10:35 am, PST. Welcome Yule!

"Solstice means "standing still sun." Daylight won’t begin to lengthen significantly for a few days. For example, here in San Francisco, at winter solstice we have 9 hours, 33 minutes of daylight. Our day will remain that length in minutes until Christmas, before gaining a minute more.

"In fact, even though winter solstice brings the shortest day of the year, it doesn’t feel like it to many people. That’s because more people experience sunsets than sunrises. At mid-northern latitudes, the earliest sunsets occur during the first week of December. Sunset actually occurs a little bit later each day as we move closer to the winter solstice. The days really are getting shorter, but it’s because the sun is rising later each morning. That’s why the days at the beginning of December usually feel the shortest. This tidbit from Jack Horkheimer of the PBS program, Stargazer."

I was prompted to do this bit of research after noticing the sun’s position in the sky this morning, when it looked exactly like this photo.  Actually, I’ve been noticing its progression up and down the latitudes all year – yet another reason to spend time in the garden.  Though it was only 30 degrees when I went out this morning (just below freezing for readers living in more science-friendly nations) it felt great.  That’s thanks to enough layers of clothes and being really active – collecting and hauling those leaves I keep talking about.  And that’s coming from a warmth-loving Southerner.