Winter Solstice 2008

Today is Midwinter for us here in Alaska, perhaps better known as the Winter Solstice.

For people like me, however, it also represents a hopeful, optimistic time, as it kicks off the official countdown to spring and the joyful long days of summer.


Sure we still have the bulk of the cold weather is still ahead of us, but if we can just make it through tonight, we'll have survived the longest night of the year. Longer days and more sunshine are on the way.


In the northern hemisphere, today is the shortest day of the year. The sun makes its shortest arc through the sky that we will see this year.










Time-lapse photograph of the sun's arc through the sky during the winter solstice (photo credit: Danilo Pivato)


To correspond with this celestial event, celebrations and holidays will be observed by cultures from every continent in the northern hemisphere. The solstice is one of the only events observed by virtually every culture and religion. It is also one of only a handful to be celebrated continuously for the duration of recorded history.


For my own part, I find something highly satisfying about the idea of a long, deep night. I happen to like the dark and the cold as it gives you a chance to stop and reflect on the past . . . the possibilities of the future, and this is a holiday that really has something to offer for me. The sun begins to return us to warmer days to come.


How ever the Winter Solstice is celebrated in your community, I hope the day finds you well.


Take a moment this evening, as the last brief glimmer of daylight fades into night, to think about what the event signifies to you.


Spread cheer and good tidings to those around you while also doing random acts of kindness to strangers . . . we can change the world one nice act at a time.


Ice

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