‘We are nearer to Spring
Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing
Than we were in September,’
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.”
The winter solstice arrives tonight at 20:27 (8:27 MST for you civilian types) here at the Vintage domicile. And while I am certainly no fan of winter, I am thrilled to welcome the winter solstice back. From this point on the days grow longer, and the sun claws its way further north in the sky until it reaches its apex when the summer solstice arrives on June 20th.
Why, tomorrow the daylength is one whole second longer than today! Huzzah!
Why doesn’t the New Year start on the solstice?
As far as I am concerned, the winter solstice marks the start of the New Year. So Happy New Year everyone!
I’ve actually wondered for a very long time why the New Year doesn’t start on the solstice. To me it makes perfect sense: the seasons have completed their cycle from the darkest day to the darkest day. For the next 364 days the sun shines longer than it does today.
I suppose a case could be made that the spring equinox should be the start of the New Year. After all, that equinox marks the beginning of the new growing season. That was a big day for our ancestors. They were very much in tune with the seasons. They had to be if they wanted to survive.
But how did January 1st get the honor? There is nothing of note on that day. Even on the Christian calendar, the twelve days of Christmas end on January 5th. So why the 1st? It is a puzzle.
I heard about this new gizmo called the ‘internet”, where apparently you can look up all kinds of random information. So, I took it upon myself to look into it. And I immediately regretted my decision.
No surprise, it all comes back to the Roman Empire.
Apparently, once upon a time the calendar was tied to the lunar cycle. A full moon marked the start of a new month. Every 3 full moons marked a season. But the moon doesn’t move in sync with the earthly seasons, so that proved to be unworkable.
The Romans had a calendar of 10 months of 30 days each. They just ignored the 60+ days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox (understandable). But that too was unwieldy.
Julius Caesar ordered that a new calendar be created, but decisions were made based more on religious or political reasons than practical ones. Plus, the Romans apparently had a weird superstition about even numbers, which is why some of the months have 31 days.
The tale became quite convoluted and I quickly lost interest. If you’re really curious, here’s as good as an explanation as any: https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/01/02/why-doesnt-the-new-year-start-on-solstice/.
Be sure to get outside and enjoy your extra one second of daylight tomorrow.
