standing still sun

Today is the winter solstice; the shortest day of the year and longest night. Solstice means "standing still sun." There are some nice pages on the web that explore the ways that this day has been viewed and celebrated in the past, including Candlegrove's Solstice page, and School of the Season's Celebrating Winter Solstice. The actual moment of solstice, or the sun's lowest latitude in the sky is 8:14 Eastern Standard time, 5:14 Pacific Standard. May this be a happy and peaceful Yule to all.