Saturday, December 21, at 11:11 AM (CST), the sun will be
directly over the Tropic of Capricorn (23 degrees, 6 minutes south of the
Equator). At that point the Earth will
cease its annual tilt of the northern hemisphere away the sun and begin its
progress back to the Tropic of Cancer (23 degrees, 6 minutes north of the
Equator) on June 21. Therefore, in the
northern hemisphere, December 21st is the shortest day of the year
(the shortest time between sunrise and sunset) and, officially, the beginning
of winter, although it has been more commonly known as Midwinter and the
beginning of Deep Winter.
No matter what calendar date name has been used to label the
occurrence, for thousands of years this was considered the beginning of the New
Year and a time for celebration for many reasons: Great feasts were held for several days
because cattle were usually slaughtered about this time so that they wouldn’t
have to be fed through the rest of the winter.
Beer had completed its fermentation and was ready to drink. Firewood had been cut and stored to last
until spring. Friends and neighbors
gathered one last time before the roads became impassable. Gifts of clothing, food and drink, playthings,
etc., were exchanged in preparation for the coming months of isolation.
We may have better transportation and access to the
necessities (and trivialities) of life, but we also have a tendency to build on
traditions. In this country of great
pluralities of peoples and cultures, our usual method is to incorporate
everyone’s ideals into one “culture” that we all share.
So…if you don’t already have a reason, these are just a few
more to encourage you to
GO PARTY!!
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