Happy Winter Solstice, or Yule!  Of course, our spherical planet also gives us the beautiful symmetry of the Summer Solstice (Litha) being celebrated now by our Southern Hemisphere friends.  With the exact Solstice moment at 4 pm (UTC) on December 21st, the longest night for most of those in America is the night of the 20th, but for some in Eastern North America, and certainly most of Eurasia, the longest night is tomorrow night, the night of the 21st.  This is different for every time zone, and is easy to figure out.  If the instant of the Solstice is in the morning (before noon) in your local time zone, then the longest night is the night before.  If it’s in the afternoon or evening, the the longest night is the night after the Winter Solstice for  you.

Celebrations

Some of the ways many of us are celebrating were published a few weeks ago.  I hope all the preparations haven’t been too busy for you – but whether they have or not, now is the time to relax and celebrate!  Everything doesn’t have to be perfectly prepared, after all.

Remaining online stuff is below – notice that with the Newgrange Solstice Sunrise, they are live streaming it the 20th, 21st, and 22nd.

New Addition!  The Solstice Sunset at a 5,000 year old Neolithic tomb, Maes Howe.  Being the sunset, it’s easier for those in the US, being at 10 am EST. Wow!!

Happy Solstice!