I reflect a little or perhaps despair when we hit December 21 or 22 with the awareness day light hours are going to start shrinking, conversely I like June 21/22 when I know it is only going to get better with longer daylight!
Like many of you I get up early to train… getting up just after 5am, and out for a run or getting on the water for a paddle before 6am in pitch black and single digit temperatures can be very hard some mornings! I deliberately took the first week in June off training and that infected a couple more weeks of training consistency…ha!
Therefore it would seem my main consideration with sunlight hours in a nutshell is training motivation…it is a modern world!
Civilizations through history and notably Pagan societies celebrated this event for its importance to our survival. It is very easy for me tucked away in a global city where I have the ability to eat bananas, mangoes and apples all year round from all parts of the globe of the real signifigance of this day.
Sydney Observatory explains the astronomy of what’s happening. “Winter solstice occurs at 02:38am AEST on Monday, June 22. At this moment the sun is at its most northerly point on its path through the sky. The solstice is a natural turning point in the year. Historically it was a time of new beginnings, of rebirth and revival. From now on the days will lengthen and the warmth of summer is on its way.”