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 10:03 am (EST) on December 21st, the longest night for those of us in the Americas (North and South) is the night of the 20th.  However, for those in Europe and Asia, the longest night is tonight, 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.

This year we are also treated to a dark (New) moon right around Solstice (the New Moon is on December 20 for most of us)!  What special magic will you make?  Interestingly, for those in the Southern Hemisphere, who are celebrating the Summer Solstice, instead of being double dark, it’s a sharp contrast between Dark and Light!

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.  

Also, the Solstice Sunset at a 5,000 year old Neolithic tomb, Maes Howe is also a great option to play on this Solstice, in addition to the Newgrange sunrise mentioned in the previous post!   

Happy Solstice!