Earlier this year I sat at home (home sweet Hilo home) and watched the sun rise on the Equinox.

Now, I find myself in Korea watching the sun rise over a car carrier. Marking the Suns progress through the seasons feels decidedly great no matter where I am.

Our ancestors had so much respect for the sky - they watched it closely and were very much in tune with what was going on above them. They marked time, celebrated through the seasons and looked closely for new phenomena.

I decided at the Equinox that it would be fun to track the sky more often on the blog - so I wrote about the Harvest Moon.

Now here we are! Officially ringing in Winter.

Today is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Henisphere and longest in the Southern.

The declination of the sun when rising was 23.5 degrees South. If you were standing on the Tropic of Capricorn the sun would be directly over your head midday.

Decembers Solstice is when the sun is at its southern most point.

The Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru were presumably built to track the Suns annual progress.

Today though, I've been wondering if I'm a little biased. I was a sun baby. Isn't it a little presumptuous to assume it's all about the light? Maybe it's equally appropriate to celebrate the dark. Maybe in today's world we just don't get enough dark.

What I remind myself about the Winter Solstice is we need the dark to stay balanced.

I always find myself feeling grumpy about it - shortest day of the year?! Less sun?! How's that a positive?! This article really got nw thinking about the importance of darkness.

I think we have forgotten what darkness is for. Sleep, story telling around fire places, cuddling, and in general simple togetherness.

Have you ever heard the word Hygge? I hadn't until very recently. It's a Danish word that is hard to translate but means roughly 'togetherness' or 'coziness'. I learned the word when happening upon this article. The article expands on the concept of Hygge and suggests it is our answer to enjoying the darker winter months.

Light your fireplaces. Burn a candle. Snuggle up on the couch. Drink a hot cup of tea. Find a good read.

Enjoy this long night.