the Way of the Turtle

Winter Solstice - Hurray!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The winter solstice has been celebrated historically by a variety of cultures for a variety of reasons. I've really only got one reason to be happy every year on this day - finally the decrease in hours of daylight reverses and we begin regaining a few minutes of daylight each day. That shouldn't matter all that much, except - I like to get outdoors in the late afternoon and evening rather than the morning, and each day from here on out means we're a little closer to my running or riding or whatever in daylight rather than the dark. (Not coincidentally I'm also a huge fan of Daylight Savings Time.)

This year the solstice was also marked by a lunar eclipse the night before... unfortunately it occured in the middle of the night and I was too beat to get up and watch, plus it was probably cloudy, seeing as the sky was overcast both when I went to bed and when I got up. Apparently, though, the last time a lunar eclipse coincided with the winter solstice was back in 1638, and it won't happen again until 2094 (more info.) While lunar eclipses aren't nearly as rare as solar ones, the last full lunar eclipse was three years ago, in February 2008. I remember that one well, since it happened earlier in the night and I spent the entire time outside running and enjoying the show.

JMH