Today at 10:28 a.m. is the winter solstice

The winter solstice occurs at 10:28 this morning. The change in the length of day this time of year is only seconds per day, which is hardly noticeable. It is actually quite impressive that ancient peoples were able to calculate the timing of the solstice because it is a rather subtle moment. Then again, these same people were living without electric lights so each second of daylight was likely much more significant to them than to us. Coincidentally, it was the ancient Celts from what is now the British Isles who used evergreen trees and mistletoe as symbols of fertility and rebirth in their winter solstice rituals centuries ago. We celebrate the New Year at midnight of Dec. 31, but this is due to calendar corrections prior to the invention of Leap Day. New Year's celebrations are actually a derivation of ancient pagan winter solstice rituals. The birthday of Jesus, which is not found in the Bible, may also have been chosen to coincide with this rebirth celebration.