Holiday Cheer.

Winter Solstice this year is exact at 12:11 pm, Saturday, December 21. That makes Saturday the short day (in terms of hours and minutes between sunrise and set) of this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/12/20/winter-solstice-2013-shortest-day-of-the-year-but-sunset-already-creeping-later/

What's so cheerful about that? Well, the bad news is also the good news. As the old saying goes, "It's always darkest before dawn."

(Biblical version, maybe? "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5, KJV)

The shortest day of the year is followed by a day of slightly more sunshine. And that, too, is followed by day of slightly more sunshine. And so, until the summer solstice, when days will seem very long, but will actually start getting shorter again. But, let's not think about that now.

Point is, we'll be getting more and more sunlight every day for the next six months, starting Sunday.

Here's to shorter dark nights and more joy in the mornings.

Joy to the world.

See, I told you this was a holiday cheer thread!

The thought of more sunshine, longer days, is really appealing about now.

Duh.