Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This takes on a whole new meaning living in England. Thanks to K&C we now know that the latitude of our cozy home in Hamilton is 43˚ 15’ North, while Leeds is at 53˚ 48’ North. It may not seem like much, but this difference has a profound effect on the amount of sunlight each day. For example, at noon Leeds time, the sun is so low in the sky it can be obscured by a three story building. The sun dips just below the horizon at 3:30pm each day, and it is fully dark by 4:30pm. Literally, children are coming home from school in the dark! As for sunrise, it officially occurs at 8:30am. So from sunrise to sundown there are seven hours of sunshine. It actually just feels a lot like 10am all day long. It is a good thing the weather is pretty mild, because if it was -10 and dark at 4:30pm one might potentially lose the will to live!! Instead it seems most people just lose the will to stay awake beyond 7:30pm and to eat healthy food. It is full hibernation mode. However, on a more positive note, apparently the winter solstice also marks the middle of winter in England. Technically their winter goes from November 1st until February 1st. Sounds pretty good to me! In fact a colleague informed me yesterday that on her birthday (March 2nd) it will be spring - with flowers in bloom and blossoms on trees. I guess that makes up for all the darkness.