My favorite day of the year isn't Christmas--although I'm sure it was when I was a kid. And it isn't the last day of the school year, although that would be a VERY close second. :o)
My favorite day of the year is today. December 22. I know this is odd. On the surface, there's nothing unique about it at all. It is close to Christmas, but not really close enough to be considered part of the festivities. Usually it's a day filled with a lot of work yet to be done...a lot of crowds if you have to be out...and a lot of travel. If you live where I do, it is also usually COLD.
But something really tiny...yet really amazing happens on December 22 every year.
You see, I really dislike winter. I dislike cold, and snow, and it getting dark outside shortly after 5 pm. I don't like bulky winter coats, or stocking hats, or boots. I am terrified to try snow skiing, and I would much prefer to stay at home and bake cookies and warm up the homemade cocoa for the crazies that enjoy that stuff than to go sledding or make snowmen. I also think that wintertime, and cold weather, and "little daylight" brings out the melancholy in me. I think the medical term is "seasonal affective disorder."
A week ago, the length of daylight where I live was nine hours and thirty-one minutes. Yesterday, the length of daylight was nine hours and twenty-nine minutes.
Yesterday, the sun set at 5:13pm. Today, sunset is predicted for 5:14pm. And that one little minute is the amazing thing that happens on this day.
Today is the day that slowly--increment by tiny little increment--the days get just a little bit longer. It isn't really even noticeable at all. I mean, the first "official" day of winter was yesterday, which means I have A L-O-T, lot of days ahead of me that are going to be cold and gloomy with not very much daylight and potential bad weather.
But today is a tiny promise that change is on the horizon. A promise that darkness and cold and winter won't last. The days will get noticeably longer and the temperature will eventually get warmer, and spring and summer will arrive again for another season.
And even though I think that the many of the ancient cultures of the world missed the boat by worshiping the creation rather than the Creator, who in His wisdom, ordered the turning of the planet and the placement of the stars in the universe for times and seasons and years; I can understand why they wanted to celebrate this particular time of year.
Because it really is pretty amazing.
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