Solstice

This is how the Cambridge dictionary describes a pomegranate: "A round, thick-skinned fruit containing a mass of red seeds and a lot of juice." A mass of seeds could well be a thousand seeds as the Turkish saying goes: I bought one in the market; it turned out to be a thousand at home!

Today, December 21, 2024, marks the winter solstice, also known as the longest night of the year or the shortest day of the year. In Athens, the sun rose at 07:37 and set at 17:09, resulting in a day that lasted just 9 hours and 31 minutes.

Today, Bulgarians celebrate Enyovden, a day steeped in mystical, magical, and supernatural traditions dating back to ancient times. Enyovden, observed on June 24th, has pagan origins but is also recognized by both the Orthodox and Catholic churches as the Day of Saint John the Baptist.

Today marks the commencement of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere with the summer solstice, a significant event in Earth's annual orbit around the Sun. According to reports from USA Today, this year's solstice is noteworthy as it is the earliest occurrence in 228 years.

This morning, at 5:27 a.m., the astronomical onset of winter commenced, marking the start of the winter solstice as well. As per the Institute of Astronomy's calendar, this day signifies the sun's southernmost position for the year. Today's sunrise is at 7:53 a.m., while sunset is expected at 4:55 p.m., providing a daylight duration of 9 hours and 2 minutes between December 20 and 24.

The astronomical summer begins in Bulgaria at 5:57 p.m. today, when it is also the summer solstice, according to the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH).

The sun was long overdue on June 21 but when it finally appeared, faces lit up and arms rose as one to greet the summer solstice at Britain's most famous prehistoric monument.

The sun was scheduled to come up on the longest day of the year at 4:49 am (3:49 GMT) but was shy in a sky as hazy as the minds of many of the midsummer revelers who spent the night at the sacred site.

The astronomical summer comes on June 21 at 12:13 p.m. Bulgarian time. This year the beginning of summer will bring us a lot of sun and high temperatures.

The good weather will continue during the week, with short-term precipitation and thunderstorms in the afternoon after June 22. But rainfall and thunderstorms are common this year in late spring and early summer.

Today at 12.02 pm the astronomical winter arrives and the winter solstice. With the winter solstice comes the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day in the southern part of the world.

Shortly after 6 pm, it will be possible to observe the conjunction of the two largest planets in the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn.

The astronomical winter arrived in Bulgaria this morning, December 23rd, at 6:19 am.

Winter is one of the four temperate seasons, along with spring, summer, and autumn.