'A grand auld stretch': Evenings getting longer after Winter Solstice
A little more light in the world as shortest day of the year passes
There's a grand stretch in the evenings again as the shortest day of the year has passed.
From this point on, the days are getting longer, though we won't notice much of a 'grand stretch in the evenings' until at least January.
The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon which marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
In the northern hemisphere, it occurs on December 21, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn.
Here in Ireland, the winter solstice is most commonly associated with the tomb at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley in county Meath.
At sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’, to illuminate the ancient chamber.
The peak of the winter solstice took place at 3.27am on Friday, December 22, marking the point in the year when the earth is closest to the sun.