Today, say the folks who know how to calculate these things, the winter solstice will occur at 3:48 p.m. in the Central Standard Time, where I live. This is the shortest day of the year in terms of sunlight.
The only good thing about the first day of winter is that, slowly but surely, the days grow longer from now on. We won’t notice it for a while because it will be so cold and snowy and miserable, but then one afternoon we’ll pass a clock that says 5:30 and the sun will still be shining, and we’ll realize that the extra light is the first sign of spring.
Mom always used to say if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything. I want the record to show that I was able to think of one good thing to say about winter.
However, in deference to my dear late mother, that’s all I have to say about today’s subject.