Today is the shortest day of the year. Can spring be far behind?

[exitseven]

Merry Christmas

[TrueConfection]

The other day, an employee was putting camping chairs on display in one of the big box stores. I had to laugh and asked if this means summer is almost here. She said, "Gotta get ready for next season." Woohoo!!!

I'll be buying a bathing suit next month! 😎

[exitseven]

I like it when I go to Home Depot and they are selling gas grills.

[TrueConfection]

Ooooh yeahhhh! 🍔

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

I am happy it’s the shortest day of the year, because from now on, they are going to get longer.

[OlderAndWiser]

I like the short days of winter. When I am driving home from work, I pass a Navy base which has a very large wooded area bordered by the highway. When it is dusky between 5:30 and 6:00 pm, while driving home, I see deer at the edge of the wooded area. There is no hunting allowed on the base so the deer flourish and I like watching them play. In the summer, duck occurs long after I am already home so I don't see the deer then.

[exitseven]

I suppose when you live someplace warm you get t osee stuff like that, Here everything is dead.

[DubiousIntentions]

No Bigfoot though? A Navy base? That also means UFO sightings.

[OlderAndWiser]

@DubiousIntentions I saw three deer playing around a retention pond on my drive home last night.

[Lliam]

It will be close to three months before the first signs of spring where I live.
In January, I'm going to have to do a lot of pruning and light a big burn pile. I've got a lot of overgrown trees and bushes from last spring and summer.

The winter solstice bears great significance. The word "solstice" comes from the Latin solstitium, which means "sun standing still."

Solstice celebrations have been observed by many cultures throughout history. In ancient times, people saw the winter solstice as a time of great importance, as it marked the shortest day and longest night of the year. It was a time when the sun appeared to stand still in the sky, and many people believed that it had special powers during this time.

There are many different ways that people have celebrated the solstice throughout history. In some cultures, people would light bonfires or candles to honor the sun, while in others, people would hold feasts or perform rituals to honor the solstice. Some people even built special structures, such as Stonehenge and Newgrange, to mark the solstice and align with the sun's movements.

Today, solstice celebrations continue to be held around the world, and often involve gatherings of family and friends, gift-giving, and the exchange of holiday greetings. While the celebrations may vary from culture to culture, they often have the same underlying themes of hope, renewal, and the return of longer days.

Winter was a hard season to survive in the ancient world. So it’s believed that the solstice was celebrated with a big feast. There could have been multiple reasons for this. However, it is strongly believed that as the winter grew harsher the grain stores would dramatically begin to reduce.

So, the ancient people would slaughter livestock to save on the grain they would have left. This mass slaughter would then fuel the feast of the solstice festivities.

The wine, ale, or whatever alcohol brew they had been fermenting over the year would most likely be ready at this time of year. So, the bottles would be broken out for a warming and celebratory drink.

The connection with mid-winter and the birth of Jesus Christ wasn’t made until the 2nd century CE, and the first known celebration of Christmas celebrating the birth of Christ is from 354 CE. Jesus’ actual date of birth is unknown, and scholars have estimated that he could have been born in June or perhaps around the spring equinox. Regardless, there is no evidence that the widely celebrated date of Christmas was his actual date of birth. The date of December 25th specifically likely comes from the Roman festival of dies natalis solis invicti (‘day of the birth of the unconquered sun’), a festival specifically celebrating the birth of the sun.

it is likely that Christmas traditions and customs do stem from the pagan festival of Saturnalia, even if it is circumstantial, as Christianity became the dominant religion in Rome and overtook the previous pagan traditions. Winter festivals are common around the world, and it makes sense that Saturnalia would have direct influences over the new festival of Christmas in the shifting landscape of the late Roman empire. Gift-giving, feasting and a hearty celebration in December could describe either Saturnalia or Christmas, but Christmas has evolved even further from its pagan roots and even its deeply Christian ties to become a time of joy around the world as families come together and celebrate the year that has passed. Saturnalia did not become Christmas in a linear way, but its influence lingers on.

I prefer thinking of "Christmas" as a solstice tradition that dates back much, much further than Christianity. I like the symbolism of evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, cheerful lights and decorations; the "yule log", warmth, cheerfulness; the feeling of hope, optimism and renewal; and the spirit of camaraderie, generosity and good will.

The religious traditions are charming, too.

[bingbongbangbung]

Did you plagiarize from ChatGPT?

[Lliam]

@bingbongbangbung. Nope. I've never used ChatGPT. I did cut and paste bits from three different articles, though.

[IslaTheWitch]

The shortest day and the longest night are magical. It's the time when the water element is on its peak... and it happens to be my element...

So I'm today mostly offline :)

But, unfortunately, @exitseven I think we will have to wait for the spring at least two months :D

[exitseven]

Yes but February is a short month and once we get to a
March it is just a few short weeks after that.

[JacobJordan]

With the climate in the state it is probably 2 and a half to 3 months before we see spring

[exitseven]

Yes, we have been having late springs recently. So much for global warming.

[JacobJordan]

I mean the planet IS heating up it happens all the time. The planet heats up then we get an ice age and it cools down and then heats up again etc. Humans are exacerbating the problem but not as badly as some people claim they are. For example the state I grew up in rarely gets snow in the winter anymore. It does get some snow but not nearly as much as it did.

[Daniela1982]

Well good, that means all these questions from guys talking about their "short" dicks will be posting. 🤣😂

[FunkyMonkee]

These are the 3 shortest days of the year. On the 25th, the Sun rises 1 degree higher than it does during these 3 days and, thus, begins the rising of the Sun back up to it's peak in June. That's where they get the fairy story of the son rising from the dead after 3 days. These 3 days, they considered the Sun (son) to be dead, at its lowest point in the sky.

[purplepoppy]

January February tend to be the worst winter months here weather wise but I can't wait for light nights because I hate driving in the dark.

[Massageman]

Yup turning the corner for another year. But the Temp change is about 4 weeks behind the daylight shift due to temperature "inertia".

[msc545]

I sure hope spring gets here in a hurry as it is my favorite time of year. Right now it's dark and raining like hell in Southern California.

[msc545]

Also, Exit, how did you find out that it was the longest night and the shortest day of the year?

I never get cool information like this and I would certainly like to!

[Wise4myage]

Well, the winters are long where In live so probably not, lol.

[Wise4myage]

But at least the days start getting longer again. :)

[WhiteSteve]

Only like 120-150 days til the weather breaks!👍👍 “Hallelujah!!! Holy shit!!! Where’s the Tylenol?”

[bingbongbangbung]

According to Perplexity, the shortest day this year is actually tomorrow. Spring doesn't come until the spring solstice, which is in March

[Anonymous]

Not likely. January feels like 12 business weeks, every single year. Winter always feels long, short or not. Worst season.

[douride2]

The days are starting to get longer now. Spring is a coming. LOL

[Cutegirl06]

I hope spring comes early!

[AngryCarl]

In a bizarre twist the coldest winter days follow the shortest day.

[NathanDavis]

I'll make it last...

[BCA6010]

Spring? Winter literally just started!

[rosemilk]

i wish it was spring

[love_conquers_lust]

Bring the Spring.

[RedInnocent68]

At least it gets better from here!

[CuriousMufuxka]

Based on last year, yes.