Happy Solstice! We are thinking of all of you on this darkest day of the year! Each December, some of us gather in the BC archery field to mark the shortest day. This year, we gathered on December 15 a bit before the actual scientific Solstice. We sing, read some winter words, and light candles to chase the dark away. We added a group to the usual suspects this year- some of the 2018 Second Year muggies made the trek to camp in the winter. It was wonderful to see them. There even was a bit of snow on the ground for them to see!
Now, today is the actual winter Solistice and it is a special one. The 2018 Solstice is followed by a full Moon on December 22 and a meteor shower too. We hope you are able to see at least one of these special things this weekend! Here is a bit more about the Solstice!
The Farmer’s Almanac, shares the following:( https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-winter-winter-solstice#)
WHAT IS THE WINTER SOLSTICE?
The word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day.
At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn.
The December full moon is often called the Cold Moon in Native America culture. The meteor shower will be an Urseid meteor shower because it can be seen near the Big and Little Dipper or Ursa Major and Usa Minor. The shower will be hard to see with the full moon, but you might be able to catch a glimpse!
As you look up at the night sky, know that many Betsey Cox people will be doing the same this weekend. We wish you wonderful holidays and look forward to the days rolling out closer and closer to Camp after this shortest day. And it will not be long before we are burning our summer bonfire!
