Dave's Fiction Warehouse

In which I bloviate about books, TV, movies, politics and other stuff.

  • Books
  • Movies
  • TV
  • politics
  • Other Stuff
  • thatfuckingtrump

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter

Powered by Genesis

In the Bleak Midwinter

December 22, 2011 by Dave Knadler

Happy Solstice, everybody. Shortest day of the year for those of us north of the equator. Even those of us in Florida. That can be both bad and good, right? Bad in that if you haven’t done all your Christmas shopping, there’s a good chance you’ll be finishing it up in darkness. Good in that from now until June, the days get longer.

Even these days, when lights stay on all the time pretty much everywhere, the idea of the shortest day has a sort of mystical significance. You think of Stonehenge. This line from the EarthSky web site explains it pretty well: “For all of Earth’s creatures, nothing is so fundamental as the length of daylight.”

So true. Daylight’s like water: we take it for granted until it’s in short supply. Then it becomes pretty important. I remember the morning Mount St. Helens blew up. That was a day without daylight in Yakima, Wash., and the darkness at noon seemed worse than the ash. For all our lights and glowing screens, there’s nothing quite like sunlight itself.

Maybe that’s why the solstice sparks the urge to celebrate. Not those long hours of darkness, but the certainty that they don’t last forever.

More along these lines:

  • christmas cheeseMom: The woman who has everything
  • Christmas in FloridaChristmas in Florida
  • Holiday Bill is back
  • A test of ye olde holiday spirit
  • The climate outside is frightfulThe climate outside is frightful

Filed Under: christmas, winter

About Dave Knadler

Obscure writer. Lazy photographer. Bashful guitarist. Perhaps too fond of wine. Tireless nemesis of New York Times crosswords.

Comments

  1. John H. says

    December 22, 2011 at 11:36 am

    Right on. With my current commute and work hours, I leave the house before sunrise and return after sunset. That will continue for a while after the solstice, but just knowing that the days are getting longer is a comfort.

Recent posts

  • Still life with dicks
  • Not throwing away
    my shot
  • February fugue
  • None the wiser
  • The shit keeps coming

Recent comments

  • Melanie on Still life with dicks
  • Michael L Stockhill on Not throwing away
    my shot
  • John H. on Still life with dicks
  • Dave Knadler on Not throwing away
    my shot
  • John H. on Not throwing away
    my shot

FInd something

send dave cash

The obligatory PayPal donation button. Go ahead: Make my day.