THE SHORTEST DAY?

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS, mentioned yesterday, commemorate the darkest days of the year, and mankind's immemorial efforts to "bring back" the disappearing sun.

But is this really the "shortest day?" Perhaps not, when you look at the "hours of daylight" for our zip code:

Date	Sun Rise(AM)	Sun Set (PM)	Daylight (Hrs/Min)
12/17	7:08	4:14	9:06
12/18	7:09	4:14	9:05
12/19	7:10	4:15	9:05
12/20	7:10	4:15	9:05
12/21	7:10	4:15	9:05
12/22	7:11	4:16	9:05
12/23	7:12	4:17	9:05
12/24	7:12	4:17	9:05
12/25	7:13	4:18	9:05
12/26	7:13	4:19	9:06
12/27	7:13	4:19	9:06
12/28	7:13	4:20	9:07
12/29	7:14	4:21	9:07
12/30	7:14	4:22	9:08
12/31	7:14	4:22	9:08
1/1	7:14	4:23	9:09

So every day from 12/18 to 12/25 is the same “short” length, 9 hours and 5 minutes (yes, certainly, the seconds may vary). But look how flat it is: it takes TEN DAYS for the daylight hours to rise again to 9 hours and 6 minutes. It’s a “time out of time” when change ceases to happen. (The same thing happens at the summer solstice in June, when the long days are with us for a 10-day period.)

The other notable trend is that sunrise comes later each day throughout this period although, blessedly, the afternoon sun lingers longer each day. And perhaps the best news is that we gain a full hour of daylight during January, which pushes the sunset back past 5 PM.

But in the meantime, we can enjoy the delights of the season -- the magic of snowfall, sunshine on new snow, enjoying a brisk walk or a cross-country ski, then returning indoors to warm by the fire, to read and laugh and plan for the warmer days ahead. And savor that evocative phrase from the I Ching:

I have a good goblet

I'll share it with you.