Today was the winter solstice, at 8:07
pm Eastern Australia time to be exact. Today sunrise was at 7:12 am and sunset at 4:58 pm. Today was the shortest day of the year.
Tomorrow the days start getting longer. Tomorrow we’ll have a smidge more daylight. Tomorrow will be colder.. That’s the problem with the solstice. The shortest (and longest) days of the year don’t fall in the middle of the season, they fall at the start. So while we’ll have longer days (which I love), we’re only 3 weeks into winter. It’s going to get much colder yet. I’ve never been able to reconcile how the shortest day of the year isn’t also the coldest day of the year (ie mid-July which is mid-winter). Or the longest day the hottest (ie mid-January which is mid-summer).
I need to focus on the shiny side of today. I have to remember, it will only get brighter from here =)
June 21, 2018 at 10:47 pm
If it makes you feel any better AJ, it’s the longest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. Days will only get shorter from here, for us. 🙂
Deb
June 23, 2018 at 11:14 am
Haha. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, Deb.
June 22, 2018 at 1:17 am
I take note of that day in America, too. It always seems gloomy, depressing. Today, we’re in our longest day–yay!
June 23, 2018 at 11:16 am
We have so many days where the fog doesn’t lift until very late in the day (if at all) in July and August, it won’t really feel like the days are getting longer until September. But I look forward to that.
June 22, 2018 at 6:12 am
There’s a reason why pagan cultures celebrate Yule near the shortest day of the year. Interesting how it isn’t the coldest for you. (It’s not for us either in December.)
June 23, 2018 at 11:17 am
I still don’t get how it isn’t the coldest day. I mean, we’re the furthest from the sun at that point! Makes my head hurt.
June 22, 2018 at 9:30 pm
Hi AJ,
This year when we hit our winter here in Canada, I decided to embrace the Danish concept of hygge. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a post -https://profoundjourney.com/photo-collage-guide-hygge/ Ignore the cold and get cozy, AJ. I’ve found out that’s the way to defeat winter.
June 23, 2018 at 11:29 am
Karen, it sounds delightful, although our house is woefully unprepared for hygge. No fireplace and candles won’t work because we have ducted heating in the ceiling (which means the air blows straight down – not practical for candles). I’ll just have to make the best of it =)