Solstice ☀️
I've always wondered about this. Tomorrow, the 21st of December, is officially the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere. Does that mean it's also the longest night? It has to be, mathematically speaking. Which night, however, is the actual longest night; the 20th-21st night or the 21st-22nd night? 🤔
I had a look at sunrise and sunset times in a chart and both nights are the same length. They're not in reality, but they are less than a minute apart which can be approximated to the same. So, from our point of view, they are indeed the same length. In fact, from a human perspective, 5 nights either side of the 21st, are the same length - being only 2 minutes apart. Besides, in the UK, it's all the same anyway. Sunrise and sunset both often happen behind a thick cloud blanket 😂
I went for a walk today to enjoy the last twinkles of light at 4pm, as well as the crispy cold winds, and saw a lot of bright red holly berries bunched around the sharp thorny leaves of their plants. It got me thinking about the symbols of the season and how the must have developed many thousands of years ago. While everything else appeared dead, the holly is bright and vibrant. I can see how that was a beacon of hope in a time when there weren't much of that about.
The same with the "Christmas Tree", which would have been a another apparently death defying plant, or group of plants, such as pines, cedars and firs. Evergreen trees would have provided sustenance to those people back then and, hence, probably developed into a revered plant. Others include the mistletoe and chestnut tree.
We have become so disconnected from nature these days. Yesterday we got a clear sky and the stars could be visible. I thought to myself how I had no idea what I was looking at. Apart from the Moon and sometimes Venus, or Orion's Belt,I had no clue what the rest of the shiny stuff in the sky was. Back in the day, they sky was like a familiar photograph to people. They would look up and spot an unusual light straight away. Nowadays, apart from not being able to recognise anything, we also have the additional problem of artificial lights in the sky from aircrafts, satellites and UFOs. UFO as in unidentified not "extra terrestrial", lol. 👽
My aim is to get more familiar with the sky. I would like to be able to spot Polaris (the North Star), and some interesting constellations. The problem with London is the light pollution. Even on a clear night, there's so much light everywhere that we're only able to perceive the brightest of the heavenly bodies. Once in the African Sahara I was privileged to see a sky so detailed that I saw things I'd never seen before. It's so immersive at makes you feel like a part of the Universe in a way that we've become disconnected from. A close second was in a small village in the Czech Republic near the mountains. It was so dark that I saw dozens of shooting stars in one night. It's an absolutely spectacular experience that I highly recommend. The risk, however, is that for some people it may trigger an existential crisis. You suddenly feel extremely small in the grand scheme of things. ⭐️
Anyway I wish you all a happy Solstice, Winter or Summer where ever you are. Those south of the Equator are experiencing the reverse of this. Mind you the world is north heavy with most of the land and word's population. The south is mostly water with probably more lifeforms than we have in the north, many yet undiscovered by us. 🐙🐠🐟🐡🐋🐳🦀
Peace & Love,
Adé