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Today began the deepest part of what I call the Dark period of the year. Sound confusing? Please allow me to explain, gentle readers:
The entirety of the island of Great Britain is further North than all forty-eight of the contiguous States[*]. Even the Southernmost spot in Great Britain -- Lizard Point -- is still about thirty-five miles further North than Northwest Angle, the Northernmost spot in the lower forty-eight States. This difference in latitude translates into a significant change in the number of daylight hours that we receive -- especially in the periods around the Summer and Winter Solstices.
I am now headed into my fourth Winter living in England. Here in Oxford, I reside at a latitude of fifty-two degrees -- approximately twelve degrees further North than New York City, where I grew up and spent the first half of my life. In New York City, the time between sunrise and sunset on the shortest day is nine hours, fifteen minutes, and four seconds. Today -- November 8th -- was the first day of the season that Oxford received less daylight than the minimum that I am accustomed to. Less than the minimum... and, of course, the days are still getting shorter for another six weeks or so! Indeed, the days here will all be shorter than the shortest day in New York City until February 3rd! It is, admittedly, a very personal definition. Still, the eighty-seven days that began today, where the number of sunlit hours are less than the minimum that I am used to... this is what I refer to as the deepest part of the Dark period of the year.
This is precisely the sort of thing that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
acelightning would relish. Me, however? Whilst I can appreciate some good darkness, I tend to be a creature of the light. The long Summer days this far North thrill me -- I love coming home from work in the twilight when it is nearly eleven o'clock at night! These long Winter nights are, of course, paying the piper for those delights! Luckily, I do have a LiteBook, which sits in my desk and work and will be switched on at sunset to fool my body and mind into thinking that the days are a bit longer than they really are!
[*] And, obviously, Hawaii.
The entirety of the island of Great Britain is further North than all forty-eight of the contiguous States[*]. Even the Southernmost spot in Great Britain -- Lizard Point -- is still about thirty-five miles further North than Northwest Angle, the Northernmost spot in the lower forty-eight States. This difference in latitude translates into a significant change in the number of daylight hours that we receive -- especially in the periods around the Summer and Winter Solstices.
I am now headed into my fourth Winter living in England. Here in Oxford, I reside at a latitude of fifty-two degrees -- approximately twelve degrees further North than New York City, where I grew up and spent the first half of my life. In New York City, the time between sunrise and sunset on the shortest day is nine hours, fifteen minutes, and four seconds. Today -- November 8th -- was the first day of the season that Oxford received less daylight than the minimum that I am accustomed to. Less than the minimum... and, of course, the days are still getting shorter for another six weeks or so! Indeed, the days here will all be shorter than the shortest day in New York City until February 3rd! It is, admittedly, a very personal definition. Still, the eighty-seven days that began today, where the number of sunlit hours are less than the minimum that I am used to... this is what I refer to as the deepest part of the Dark period of the year.
This is precisely the sort of thing that
acelightning would relish. Me, however? Whilst I can appreciate some good darkness, I tend to be a creature of the light. The long Summer days this far North thrill me -- I love coming home from work in the twilight when it is nearly eleven o'clock at night! These long Winter nights are, of course, paying the piper for those delights! Luckily, I do have a LiteBook, which sits in my desk and work and will be switched on at sunset to fool my body and mind into thinking that the days are a bit longer than they really are![*] And, obviously, Hawaii.
