Happy Solstice. The northern hemisphere reached its ultimate inclination away from the sun at 8:37 this morning, eastern standard time, making this the shortest day of the year. In northern Vermont, that means we enjoy about nine hours of daylight, and even that is obscured by clouds.
Commemorating the solstice is among the oldest of human rituals. Civilizations that left no written record did leave elaborate buildings and monuments designed to catch fleeting rays of sun on the darkest day of the year. Anthropologists speculate solstice rituals were meant to halt the retreat of the sun and bring it back, so the days would lengthen and the earth would again grow warm. Our traditions and rituals have changed, but we still manage to place them near the solstice.
Sunset this afternoon marks the beginning of Hanukkah, the festival of light, and candles will be lit in homes around the world. Hanukkah, like the solstice ceremonies that preceded it, is a study in contrasts. Light in a time of darkness, defiance in a time of oppression, abundance in a time of want. The central Hanukkah story concerns the reconsecration of the temple in Jerusalem, when one night’s supply of lamp oil lasted eight nights, long enough to complete the ritual. What audacity it must have taken to kindle that flame, what courage, what faith.
Monday, the 25th, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, or Ramazan, as our Shi’ite friends pronounce it. Ramadan too, is marked by opposites. Daylight hours are given over to fasting, prayer and solemnity. With darkness comes feasting and visits among friends.
The 25th is the occasion of a partial solar eclipse, the last of the millennium, which officially ends on December 31st, 2000. The eclipse will be more visible in the north than the south and will last for a few hours, with the greatest darkness coming at 12:35 in the afternoon, eastern time. According to Sky&Telescope magazine, the quality of light will be similar to that of a clear day on Mars. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and want to watch the sun come up on Christmas morning, it will appear as if someone has taken a bite out of it, perhaps mistaking it for an oversized sugar cookie.
The only way you’ll see the moon on Christmas is if you happen to catch the eclipse, because the 25th begins a new moon, at 12:22 p.m. eastern time. Yes it’s a busy week for sky watchers and there’s little light to see by. An eclipsed sun, no visible moon, the longest nights of the year, dreadful weather, cold and wet, rain or snow, or both, fog and gloom and clouds.
December 25th is also Christmas Day, which Christians mark as a day when spiritual light returned to a darkened world. Like Hanukkah, Christmas is placed by tradition near the winter solstice, allowing us to place a different meaning on our ancient tradition of celebrating light in darkness. Christmas has its tradition of skywatching, in the story of the Magi from the east, who were looking at a star.
Maybe time hasn’t made us so different after all. The solstice celebration of Christmas remembers a Jewish family in Bethlehem, the city of David, just outside Jerusalem, where the Maccabees reconsecrated the temple. The descendants of the magi are celebrating Ramazan in Tehran.
In North America, we’ll see exceptional events in the sky, but it will be dark this Christmas night, with no moon and no portentous star above the horizon. But light is where you find it, and if we look in our hearts, we may find it there.
On his deathbed, the last words of philosopher Johann Goethe were, “More light.” I can’t think for a better gift for us all this solstice, and in the year to come.
More Light
Happy Solstice. The northern hemisphere reached its ultimate inclination away from the sun at 8:37 this morning, eastern standard time, making this the shortest day of the year. In northern Vermont, that means we enjoy about nine hours of daylight, and even that is obscured by clouds.
Commemorating the solstice is among the oldest of human rituals. Civilizations that left no written record did leave elaborate buildings and monuments designed to catch fleeting rays of sun on the darkest day of the year. Anthropologists speculate solstice rituals were meant to halt the retreat of the sun and bring it back, so the days would lengthen and the earth would again grow warm. Our traditions and rituals have changed, but we still manage to place them near the solstice.
Sunset this afternoon marks the beginning of Hanukkah, the festival of light, and candles will be lit in homes around the world. Hanukkah, like the solstice ceremonies that preceded it, is a study in contrasts. Light in a time of darkness, defiance in a time of oppression, abundance in a time of want. The central Hanukkah story concerns the reconsecration of the temple in Jerusalem, when one night’s supply of lamp oil lasted eight nights, long enough to complete the ritual. What audacity it must have taken to kindle that flame, what courage, what faith.
Monday, the 25th, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, or Ramazan, as our Shi’ite friends pronounce it. Ramadan too, is marked by opposites. Daylight hours are given over to fasting, prayer and solemnity. With darkness comes feasting and visits among friends.
The 25th is the occasion of a partial solar eclipse, the last of the millennium, which officially ends on December 31st, 2000. The eclipse will be more visible in the north than the south and will last for a few hours, with the greatest darkness coming at 12:35 in the afternoon, eastern time. According to Sky&Telescope magazine, the quality of light will be similar to that of a clear day on Mars. If you live in the Pacific Northwest and want to watch the sun come up on Christmas morning, it will appear as if someone has taken a bite out of it, perhaps mistaking it for an oversized sugar cookie.
The only way you’ll see the moon on Christmas is if you happen to catch the eclipse, because the 25th begins a new moon, at 12:22 p.m. eastern time. Yes it’s a busy week for sky watchers and there’s little light to see by. An eclipsed sun, no visible moon, the longest nights of the year, dreadful weather, cold and wet, rain or snow, or both, fog and gloom and clouds.
December 25th is also Christmas Day, which Christians mark as a day when spiritual light returned to a darkened world. Like Hanukkah, Christmas is placed by tradition near the winter solstice, allowing us to place a different meaning on our ancient tradition of celebrating light in darkness. Christmas has its tradition of skywatching, in the story of the Magi from the east, who were looking at a star.
Maybe time hasn’t made us so different after all. The solstice celebration of Christmas remembers a Jewish family in Bethlehem, the city of David, just outside Jerusalem, where the Maccabees reconsecrated the temple. The descendants of the magi are celebrating Ramazan in Tehran.
In North America, we’ll see exceptional events in the sky, but it will be dark this Christmas night, with no moon and no portentous star above the horizon. But light is where you find it, and if we look in our hearts, we may find it there.
On his deathbed, the last words of philosopher Johann Goethe were, “More light.” I can’t think for a better gift for us all this solstice, and in the year to come.
Happy Holidays