Solstice Day

My goodness, where is this year going to?!
Already, we are on the shortest/longest day of the year, depending on which hemisphere you are glued to!

In olden times, for many Northern countries, this shortest day marked the end of the old year and the beginning of the new, as the sun gradually regained its strength and the days gradually got longer. And the great festival of Yule celebrated this turning point with Yule goats, Yule logs, a lot of greenery around the home, and a great deal of feasting before the worst of the winter arrived. It was a last chance to stuff yourself before things got tougher as food stocks dwindled and everyone tightened their belts, hoping spring wouldn’t be late.

Nature’s calendar was the one that really mattered to people then, and vast amounts of time and human effort were used to make monuments and other devices to record the changing of the year.

Stonehenge

They may not have understood the why of it all, but they understood how it impacted their lives.

So, whether it’s your shortest or longest day today, let’s celebrate the solstice with pics, gifs, videos, and music of the arrival of winter or summer, as appropriate!