Origins

What To Do In The Dark

December 22nd marks an important point in our celestial path.

"As our spinning globe of rock and metal tracks its steady path around the Sun, we find ourselves crossing once again through the winter solstice, the point at which Earth’s northern pole is pointed as far from our fierce stellar parent as it can be." At least that's how Scientific American describes it.

Whew. Sounds like an important spot, right? And for those of us situated on the Northern Hemisphere of this globe of rock and metal, it also marks an important day: the shortest one of the year.

That's a tough pill to swallow for most of us, as a lot of our time spent awake, feeling alive, exploring outside, is during daylight hours. What do we do when those are few and far between? What do we do in the dark?

Look Up: Spend time checking out the night sky. The longest night of the year will give you plenty of time for that. If you don't know a lot of the astronomical details, read up! Or just stare, mouth agape.

Take a Night Hike: Who says you can't be outside at night? Choose a path that you've taken during the day and explore it in the dark. Your eyes will adjust just fine.

Hunker Down: Light some candles. Romance yourself with a good book or cozy up with someone else. If the lack of light outside means you're in bed earlier...12 hours of sleep it is!

Contemplate Your Impending Winter Doom: Winter's here. It's gonna get colder. If you're feeling anxious about the dropping temperatures, now is your signal to hibernate (or graft a base layer of flannel to your body). And if it's you are of heartier, cold-and-snow-loving stock, welcome!

And for everyone in between, this is the shortest day of the year...things can only go up from here!

To being outside, night and day,

-KK