1. Home
  2. Home Repair
  3. Tonight is the Winter Solstice

Tonight is the Winter Solstice

Just letting everyone know. It's at 9:49 EST. 10:49 CST, etc....

Which means TODAY and TOMORROW are the shortest days of the year, and it's OFFICIALLY Winter.

Reply to
Paintedcow
Loading thread data ...

That explains why yesterday my furnace AND humidifier were both running when I got up.

Trust the govenment to explain the obvious. It's winter, folks. Obama said so, and signed an Executive Order so we could have winter. All hail Great Beloved Leader.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The shortest day (daylight) of the year.

I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest sunset" are on different days.

Reply to
Sam E

Yes, DayLIGHT. The day is still 24 hours :)

It's all on this website, which I like to look at often.

formatting link

Solstice Info.

formatting link

Reply to
Paintedcow

Same E wrote: "I suppose you know that "the latest sunrise" and "the earliest sunset are on different days"

Correct.

Mid-latitudes, they occur roughly one week before and after a solstice. At the equator, the difference is almost one month before and after(!), while nearer to Poles the difference is far less. Equation of Time and the Analemma are at play.

Reply to
thekmanrocks

A place in the far north or far south may not have a sunrise and sunset on a particular day (daylight all day or night all day). What I don't know, is if there are any days when there is one (sunrise or sunset) but not the other.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

Gee Mark, you have been talking about the solstice celebration for the

15 years I have been reading your stuff. Why is the celebration today?
Reply to
gfretwell

What came first, the Christian holiday, or the Winter solstice celebration? Or maybe they are one in the same...... (except the days are off a little bit). I think we mostly just celebrate because it's so damn dark this time of year, that we needed an excuse to celebrate. All those colorful christmas lights take away some of the darkness.... Even those who are not into the religious part, still usually get involved in some way.

I always say, that in summer, nature paints our beauty, but in winter, when everything is drab and gloomy, WE create the beauty with colored lights, gift wrapping, colorful ribbons, and lots of good stuff to eat and drink....

This holiday has become far too commercialized, but it's what we make it. We dont need to follow the commercial aspects of it, and we can still enjoy it. Santa Claus and flying reindeer may seem silly, but I'd feel really lost without this seasons silliness. What matters most is that this holiday brings people together in a friendly and peaceful manner. It's too bad we cant do that more times of the year!!!

Reply to
Paintedcow

Since an historical analysis of the Christmas story would put it in the spring or summer and the actual year of the birth is far from certain, you can't put much on 12/25/0000. (or is it 0001) We can start that 15 year old argument up again too I guess.

What we think of as Christmas is an invention of europeans about the time we started getting all of those pictures of Jesus being a blue eyed blonde guy.

I will agree it has evolved into being anything but a time to express Christian values

Reply to
gfretwell

Yes, I'm aware of the "historical analysis" and all the other

*confusion*..... I think this "arguement" has gone on a lot longer than 15 years. Probably hundreds of years, but religion is something that no one has ever been able to really prove and not worth the disussions, because no one really has the answer, or can prove anything.

Agreed. Why they chose Dec. 25 is always a puzzle, so I can only attribute it to the winter solstice.

You got that right, but it is what we make it. I dont "do" the "black friday" sales or any of the shopping stuff. When I was young, my parents did it, so I felt obligated to do it too. While it was fun in the end, the shopping was very frustrating and I often hated that part of it. But since my parents are now gone, I dont do any of that. I suppose of I had young kids, I'd probably do it to a small degree, (not black friday), but I dont have small kids.

My favorite part of the holiday is visiting friends, driving around looking at all the great decorations, and every year there's a horse drawn sleigh ride event in my area, which is a lot of fun. And of course there's all those good things to eat, which I surely enjoy! There's also a nearby city, and even though it's an hour's drive to get there, they have a park with over 3.5 million lights, live reindeer, bands and concerts, hay wagon rides, and more. I can spend hours there and still want to go back again. What they do it AWESOME !!!

Reply to
Paintedcow

The 15 year old argument was whether there was a "year 1" or was it "Year 0". Since it was an arbitrary number chosen centuries later and being a digital sort of guy, I am OK with year 0

Reply to
gfretwell

I'll go with the "0". No one really will know what was going on wayyyyyyy back then.... Sometimes it's hard to believe there were even buildings and communities back then.

I often wonder what they will think of "THIS ERA" in 2000 years from now? (That;s if the world still exists)......

Reply to
Paintedcow
[snip]

Various ancient groups had holidays around the time (it is after the solstice, perhaps they now had proof the days were getting longer again). Then the Christians took over, and even (incompletely) altered their story (Jesus) to fit.

Yes, that makes sense. Although there is still a lot more winter coming.

I never really understood the religious part, but there's still a lot of good things around this time of year.

Yes.

Spring (ending well before June) it like that here. The first half of summer was WET and hot. The second half was dry and hot.

I'm thinking about that on "black friday" when I stay home and decorate, instead of going out and buying stuff.

Also, I remember hearing that that day is not the most commercial day, but tomorrow (Christmas Eve) is.

I consider silliness an essential part of life. Of course, there are problems with Santa. I hear most kids start out afraid of Santa (maybe it's the constant surveillance).

BTW, I was surprised that I spelled that last word right.

That's why my best memories are or Christmas.

Yes.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.