Showing posts with label Winter Solstice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter Solstice. Show all posts

Dec 20, 2019

Winter Solstice

Winter solstice 2019 in Northern Hemisphere will be on Saturday, December 21. It is officially the shortest day of the year. The first full day of winter, a full moon will shine like a beacon on the long dark night. The December full moon, also known as the Cold Moon or Long Night’s Moon, arrives less than a day after the solstice, on December 22.


Yea! From now on days will be getting longer and that means more sunshine and that means warmer weather is coming.

Dec 22, 2017

Finally More Sun

On a brighter note, yesterday we celebrated the Winter Solstice Thursday, December 21, 2017 at 10:27 am in Dallas. Beginning today, Dec 22 we begin to gain more sunlight, 1 extra second to be exact. Tomorrow we get 3 more seconds and each day after that more seconds of sunlight.

At risk of starting a Twitter frenzy, THE END IS NEAR. Winter officially began yesterday, so we are now counting down to the end of winter. It will get colder before it gets warmer, but we get to enjoy more sunlight each day and that is a good thing.

By the end of December, we will be enjoying 10 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine. Yea! I can feel the seasonal stress disorder slipping away already. Now I understand why Christmas and New Year's are such festive occasions, more sunshine.

Dec 15, 2009

Winter Solstice

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the first day of the season of winter. It falls on or near December 21.

The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. It is a celebration of the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, when the North Pole is at its furthest point away from the sun.

The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.

Yule logs are traditionally lit on the first day of the Solstice and are burned throughout the Solstice night for 12 hours as a symbol of hope and belief that the sun will return. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time, a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits,  and bring luck for the coming year.