In three hours the northern hemisphere will tilt as far away from the sun as it will get for the year. What a relief. The days will start gradually, but inevitably, to get longer, and the sun will rise higher in the sky every day.
I think I prefer the traditional name midwinter, rather than referring to this as the first day of winter, as we do now. The solstice marks such a turning point and in a few weeks the sun will start behaving much more spring-like, even if the temperatures don't. Mind you, with the weather we've had recently, we've no business calling this midwinter - the freezing rain today is really the first serious weather of the season.
You know what's weird? Here in Australia, they insist on refering to the first of December as the beginning of summer...likewise the first day of winter is apparently June 1st. I guess it sorta makes sense, but I never heard it referred to that way in Canada, so I kinda wonder where this comes from...
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