today is the winter solstice

The Winter Solstice happened mid-day today. It is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

The North Pole is leaning as far towards the sun as it will until this time next year.

It is also considered officially as the first day of winter. Even though the days will now start getting longer, the cooling of the northern surface has just begun.

In his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell noted the similarities with the central divine spirit in many of the world’s religions. Others observed that those similarities can be explained if the stories are linked to what the stars and our planet are doing at this pivotal time.

Returning to the practical…
Take a look at sunrise and sunset for the next few days. Note where they strike your house, where they shine in the windows, what areas of your yard get the most southern warming exposure. From now to June, those points will gradually move north before the Summer Solstice marks the next turnaround.

As long as people have paid attention to their physical world in an organized fashion, there have been many ways of noting and celebrating the Winter Solstice. It is noteworthy in many ways and helps tie the seasons together. This is one day of the year that no political or religious calendar can change.

It simply and irrefutably just IS.

It’s kind of nice to have something that solid come along every now and then.
Well worth celebrating, don’t you think?