The internet told me that this morning at 4:30 AM my time, the north end of the earth was as far from the sun as it gets. When it reaches that point, we say we have entered winter. From now until the summer solstice on June 20 at 10:31 PM, the earth will get closer to the sun and we will experience spring.
Honoring ancient gods and beliefs, buying and wrapping gifts and thinking about Santa and Christmas, we tend to associate with winter. In Wisconsin, that means snow, ice, wind and all the goodies we long for. But the associations with cold are at odds with the fact that from today until June 20, the north side of our planet gets more and more sun, heat, and daylight. Just think of any snow, ice and wind as warming signs.
You know that it is warming that many people fear. We don't want to be desert everywhere. We don't want too much heat. We are actually a somewhat delicate lifeform, not too cold nor too warm. The next planet toward the sun from us is Venus. It's too hot for us and Mercury is worse. Mars is too cold for comfort, with an average of -81°F.
Some people use the solstice as markers instead of Christianity, sending out greetings of "Happy Solstice!"
