Winter solstice means it’s time for SA’s longest night of the year

Today is, geographically, astronomically and even astrologically speaking, a significant day in both the southern and northern hemispheres… it is solstice time.

The word solstice comes from the Latin sol (meaning sun) and sistere (to stand still).

Twice a year, at the summer and winter solstice, the sun apparently reverses its north-south motion, seemingly standing still.

In the southern hemisphere, we are at our maximum tilt away from the sun today.

So we will have our longest night of the year and our shortest day.

In England, pagans and free spirits will celebrate their longest day by dancing around the mysterious ancient ruin at Stonehenge.

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In South Africa, we will celebrate our longest period of darkness dancing around our own social and economic ruin as Eskom’s load shedding makes our longest day seem even longer.

Sadly, the shortest day does not necessarily mean our temperatures will start going up as we get more daylight.

July is often our most bitter month, so we won’t be doing any scantily-clad pagan dancing any time soon.

Yet, a solstice – our summer one is on 21 December – is a strangely comforting phenomenon in these times of trouble and turmoil.

It’s a reminder that earth rolls on, with or without self-important humans.