That’s right. At 11:19 PM Eastern is the moment the the sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. OK, genius, you explain how the sun is at it’s lowest when it’s dark outside. It’s an astronomical thing and SBCers don’t do astronomical things well, excepting perhaps megapastor salaries.
Being a keen observer of the human condition, particularly the Christian, Baptist, Southern Baptist human condition, I judge that “solstice” both as a term and as a concept, is not to be mentioned in polite SBC company. The brethren and sistren are likely to think one to be a little too influenced by paganism. What’s next? Stonehenge on the church lawn? A woman speaking at the church on Mother’s Day?
Better to ignore the solstices altogether.
But not here at my house.
I thank our God that set in place the sun, moon, and stars and who with a word spoke it into existence and spun it out in to the vast nothingness that was before the beginning of all beginnings.
After tonight, the sun will shine longer and longer. Where I live, in about a month I can expect to see flowers blooming. In about two months early migrant birds (like the lovely Louisiana Waterthrush, which gets a mention here because I don’t much want to think of LSU the football team) will flit through, headed north. In three months I can mostly dispense with burning firewood and the wild dogwood trees will start to bloom in the woods around my house.
It starts today, er, tonight.
Have a hearty winter solstice soup, brethren. Put some Tabasco sauce (best thing to come out of Louisiana) in it.
Maybe get a slab of macho, CBMW approved pork ribs.
Have some spiced eggnog (and get the triple bypass, whole eggnog, not the wimpy lowfat variety).
Yes!
Do that big bonfire, roast some marshmallows and get your fingers ridiculously sticky.
Maybe go outside around 11:19, Jay Adkins, take your sky app and find the Andromeda galaxy, just a smudge in the sky but the largest object that can be seen with the naked eye.
It’s time to celebrate!
