The Shortest Day Of The Year

Today is the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm so pleased about it because it means that the days will slowly begin to get longer, the nights shorter and that we are heading towards Spring again and Spring is my favourite season of the year! :)

Today the Sun reaches it's northern-most point in planet Earth's sky, making it mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere and mid-winter in the Southern. This event is known as a solstice and happens twice a year when the Earth's axis is most tilted away from or towards the Sun.
It's interesting that the word "solstice" comes from the Latin 'sol'(sun) and 'sistere'(to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before it reverses direction. Summer solstice for the S.H. is on December, 21.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?

- Psalms 8:3-4