The winter solstice has passed. Next stop: Spring!

We officially hit the Winter Solstice at 5:44am yesterday. The Solstice fell on December 21 this year, but did you know that it can fall anywhere from December 21 through December 23. That means today is officially the first FULL day of winter. On the flip side (of the planet), today marks the first full day of summer.

But what exactly is the Winter Solstice? From the Old Farmer's Almanac:

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Winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year...
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​The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “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 next big event in our planet's rotation around the  sun will be the Spring Equinox-- March 20, 2017 at 6:29am. That's just 88 days, people! It's never too soon to start planning your garden for next season.