📍WINTER SOLSTICE 2019: THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER
In 2019, the winter solstice arrives on Saturday, December 21, at 11:19 p.m. EST, (adjust time zone) marking the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
The word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn. The day of the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, meaning the one in which we experience the least amount of daylight in 24 hours; it is also the time when the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky. The solstice is the beginning of astronomical winter. Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. In contrast, meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle and patterns. It is important for meteorologists to be able to compare climatological statistics for a particular season from one year to the next for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes. Thus, meteorologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months. Meteorological winter starts on December 1 and includes December, January, and February.
WINTER FOLKLORE
Deep snow in winter; tall grain in summer. —Estonian proverb
Visits should be short, like a winter’s day.
A fair day in winter is the mother of a storm. —English proverb
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