Short Day or Long Night? Solstice

[SawyerTed]

Today is the Winter Solstice (after 10 pm tonight).

We had 9 hours and 40 minutes of daylight today.  In June we will have somewhere near 5 hours more daylight. 

I know Forumites from the glaciated north have less daylight now and more in June. 

What's it like where you are?

[btulloh]

Dark.  Increasing light in the morning.

[Old Greenhorn]

Mighty short day here today. :D I had always thought of the soltice(s) as simply an astronomical event until I spent a few weeks in Norway touring and doing research. As it happened I was there on 6/23 and visiting family on the south coast (Tonsberg). I was informed we would be going to a beach party for St John's day and we would be walking so we could bring all the adult beverages we wanted. We went about a mile to the beach and sat on the sand and met lots of people, friends and neighbors, and I had some interesting hours of conversation. I understood about the solstice, but not about this holiday thing, so I had lots of questions. Basically the huge fire thing was a pagan tradition to keep away the evil gods and spirits that were overly present on that particular day. The huge fire, and it being attended through the night was required to let these ill-doers know they were being watched.
Well when the entire country was ordered by the King (who was newly baptized into Christianity) to stop all Pagan activities and join the church (under threat of death) all such celebrations were banned. Well being smart Norskies, they knew that angering the Gods was a poor life choice, but death after being caught was also not a good choice they opted for renaming the  summer solstice observation as St. john's day honoring the Catholic Saint. This covered all their bases and allowed them to keep farming but keep the Gods happy.
As for the Winter Solstice, that was called the Yule Time celebration and out modern Christmas has a lot of things derived from the original pagan observations. I copied the following from a travel information website:
------------------------------
Viking Christmas
Every December the Vikings would celebrate the Midwinter Solstice, the longest night of the year and the daylight is the shortest of the year. The celebration included drinking, feasting, songs, games, banquets, and sacrifices for the gods and the ancestor spirits for 12 days straight.

They called it "Yule" which is pronounced the same as the word for Christmas in Norway today "Jul".
The Vikings believed Odin, the great God, and father of other gods, would ride across the night sky and visit them in their homes. Viking children would leave their shoes out by the hearth on the eve of the winter solstice with sugar and hay for Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, sound familiar? Christianity reached Europe while the Vikings still believed in their pagan mythology, Norse traditions would be mixed with the Christian, turning Yule into the Christmas many of us celebrate today.

Indeed, as we look deeper the Vikings had many themes that hold true today. They had a Yule tree which inspired the later Christmas tree. The green tree was often decorated with small statues of their Norse gods, food, and clothes. They attempted to call for the spirit of the forests.

The Yule wreath was a giant wheel that the Vikings set on fire and threw down a hill to wish for the return of the Sun. It is theorized that the Yule wreath was the ancestor of the Christmas wreath on our doors today.

Mistletoe also had mythical importance. Norse legend told of how the god of light, Balder, was slain by an arrow of mistletoe but was resurrected when his mother's tears turned the berries of the plant red. It thus represented resurrection and hope for the end of winter.

The Viking Yule goat was one of the most important parts of their ancient pagan celebration. Connected to worship of the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr

In common Indo-European beliefs the last sheaf of grain bundled in the harvest was credited with magical properties as the spirit of the harvest and saved for the Yule celebrations, called among other things Yule goat (Julbocken). Today you can find straw goats used as decoration during Christmas.

The Yule log was a long oak tree carved with runes (early norse/germanic letters) to wish for the protection of the gods and burned for the duration of the celebration. To let it go out was said to be a dark omen and a sign of bad luck to come. The Vikings would save a piece of the log for next year's fire.

During the Yule celebrations someone would be selected to dress up as 'old man winter,' a white-bearded man dressed in a hooded fur coat, thought to represent Odin. This individual would travel around the community, joining in with the various celebrations. This figure, when introduced into England while parts were under Viking rule, soon became the modern 'Father Christmas.'

In old Norse mythology, the northern lights were said to be Bifrost, the bridge between Åsgard and Midgard, see more here. "To "go viking" refers to the vikings' expression for going on a journey or an expedition to foreign lands.
------------------------
Anyway, I thought some folks might find that interesting even if it's a bit wordy. BTW, the word 'Berserk' is also of Norsk origin and refers to a specific type of Viking warrior, but that's a totally different story. :D

[Nebraska]

Thanks for the story Tom. being a bit Swedish I actually knew a little of that.

[Southside]

So odd bit of info, my laying hens always hit the bottom of their production and begin to rebound exactly one week before the solstice, every single year.  Last week one of my employees mentioned that egg production was up finally I checked what the date was - it was the 15th.   

[Larry]

We had 9 hours and 40 minutes of daylight today.

Wow, we had a lot more daylight here in the deep south....9 hours and 41 minutes.  When I checked I also found tomorrow we will have exactly one more second of daylight.  More sun means it should also be warmer tomorrow.

[DbltreeBelgians]

Good read Tom. Very Interesting.Thank you.

Brent

[KWH]

Has anyone ever heard of this. After scraping and bedding freestalls, I went into milking parlor and started to help put on the milking machines. My Daughter said do you see the egg? I look over to this flat piece of channel iron where I put my coffee cup every morning and there is an egg standing up straight on the flat steel. The chicken face book group said that if you take a fresh laid egg on the winter solstice it will stay upright when placed there. I stared at it for over two hours and it never moved.

[Southside]

The wife is presently attempting the theory, update to follow.

[KWH]

I just went back out to the barn 5 hrs. still standing.

[Southside]

What in the Voo-Doo Chicken Santeria sacrifice sorcery is this?



 

[Old Greenhorn]

This chicken and egg mojo is starting to weird me out. Evil spirits and ill doers are easy to understand, but the chicken stuff is a bit spooky.
Not sure how grits are going to work in here, but they are bound to, almost any minute now. :D

[rusticretreater]

This egg-balancing trick is just an old wives' tale. There is no gravitational change during the equinox that would help an egg balance. The key is finding an egg with a yolk centered in the shell. 

Standing an egg on its end is something just about anyone can do any day of the year. The feat simply takes the right egg, a little practice, and a lot of patience.  Or you can just put it in a little bit of grits to stand it up

[twar]

I am at about 60° N (ca. Anchorage, AK/mid-Hudson Bay)
Sunrise today: 9:18 a.m.
Sunset today: 3:13 p.m.
Just shy of a 6-hour day.

A little lightbulb extends the day for my chickens, so they are still laying.

[dgdrls]

Central NY, Sitting at 9 hours of "daylight" today.

D

[woodroe]

Sunrise to Sunset about 8 hrs and 45 mins.
Looking forward to increasing daylight .

[olcowhand]

I've learned to like 12/21 for another reason.
10 years ago yesterday, I quit smoking for the last time. Still free.
I feel real good about it (in more ways than one....).

[SawyerTed]

The Doc informed me this morning WE are going  to a Solstice party tonight.  The hostess is The Doc's best friend.  I had hoped to avoid it. :

I'm not a Viking nor am I a pagan.  The hostess writes and does recitation(s).   It's not the first one and won't be the last I suspect.  There's usually good food but the "poetry and dramatic recitations" are weird.  Nobody has the heart to tell her it's awful. 

[Magicman]

I quit smoking for the last time. Still free.

Congratulations.  You have a reason to be proud, both for yourself and your family.   8)

[olcowhand]

You have a reason to be proud, both for yourself and your family.

Thanks, Lynn- but if it was all me, I never would have succeeded. I've found that instead of praying to wake up with out a certain trouble, it doesn't happen; but when I pray for peace while dealing with it- and courage to execute; that's what works for me......

[Magicman]

Yup, I hesitate to say that we are the masters of our own destiny, but our proper attitude toward that destiny certainly guides us in the right direction.

In another topic this week I said that I had gotten past the "kickin' & cussin'" stage a long time ago.  It serves no purpose and actually clouds your thinking and could prevent you from reaching the proper or otherwise wise solution.

[Old Greenhorn]

Oh Ted, I am so sorry to hear this and I feel for ya man, I really do. Your description was quite adequate for me to know exactly how you are expecting the evening to go. I believe I have been in similar 'uncomfortable' situations and my thoughts are with you. That will make for a long evening, good food or not.
On the other hand, you have succeeded in making me feel like my boring routine day is going to be a lot more fun that yours, so there is that. I'll be thinking of you with concern and sympathy as I sip a beer at my desk this evening. Sorry Dude. :D :D ;D

[CCCLLC]

Possible the party will be an "open mic" opportunity? Ted can give a few thoughts  of wisdom of his own. Insights  from a Sawyer.

[WV Sawmiller]

    I can just hear his rendition now:

A sparrow sat upon a bookshelf
He shook his head in doubt
He wondered where those bookworms were
He'd heard so much about

[Andries]

Ted, do that!
Offer up deep thoughts from the 'Mystic Miller'. Like a cowboy poetry moment but with sawdust on your boots rather than cow turd.
Man, it's universal. The parties that we are obliged to go to are part of the unavoidable social stress at this time of the year. I remember as a kid, going to the grown-ups parties, where the same recitations and complete lack of self-awareness were cringe worthy. A lot of the customs, Tom describes as 'Viking' were celebrated in our house near the border of Denmark, Germany and Holland. The absolute best part of most of those traditions was mulled wine or gluehwein. That tradition of stayed with us for many decades, and will take the edge off of those enforced get togethers. 🎄😉🎄
.
Today is the day after the winter solstice, so today's daylight will be a few seconds longer than yesterday. There's hoarfrost on the trees which is unusual out here in the dry Prairies, and much to celebrate. Daylight is just an eight to four thing for a while.