WInter Solstice - Welcoming the Light - Approaching 2014

In ancient times, human beings had no artificial light sources and were more attuned to the cycles of nature signified by the Sun and Moon. Massive prehistoric stone monuments such as Stonehenge in Britain are aligned to capture the light at the moment of the winter solstice sunrise. Throughout history, people have celebrated the winter solstice, often in anticipation toward the return of summer sunlight During the warmer half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. The northern winter solstice occurs when the "top" half of Earth is tilted away from the sun at its most extreme angle of the year. "Solstice" means "sun stands still." That's because—after months of growing shorter and lower since the summer solstice—the sun's arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days. Then, on Dec 25 th , the arc beg...