It's a lucky day when the light returns

Frontiersman editorial board

It's just around the corner -- are you ready? No, not Christmas, but the 23rd of December, the day we begin our journey back into sunlight.

Monday marks the shortest day of the year, winter solstice. 10:04 p.m. marks the center point of the darkness, as well as the tipping point for our ascent into light. Although technically, the earth is about 3 million miles closer to the sun in January than in June, it's the slant of the earth's axis that determines how much light we receive each day, week or month. By that standard, in December, Alaska is on the short end of the proverbial stick, and receives even less light than our fellow citizens in the Lower 48 states.

This is nothing new to most Alaskans, who have developed various coping mechanisms for getting through the long hours of darkness. Whether it's semi-hibernative sleep, ultra-violet lights or just a more-grumpy-than-usual demeanor, everyone deals with the lack of light in one way or another.

In other northern climes, structures were built thousands of years ago to mark the return of the daylight, and a few are still standing. Newgrange, a megalithic site in Ireland, is estimated to be 5,000 years old. Reportedly, a shaft of sunlight brightens the center of the domed chamber only at dawn on winter solstice, illuminating a basin filled with carvings -- eye shapes, spirals and solar discs. Maeshowe, another ancient structure located on the Orkney Islands north of Scotland, lets in light only at sunset on winter solstice. Although no one knows the purpose of the structures for sure, or the particular meaning behind the carvings that see only one day's light, one might guess the simplest answer -- it gave the builders something to do with their hands during the long, dark hours.

Historians say some cultures believed, in an otherwise busy year, the dark hours gave them time to reflect, share stories and to gather together to hold a celebration to entice the sun to return. A break in the monotony, or a piece of solitude and sharing in an otherwise bustling world -- either way, solstice has been celebrated as the returning of the sun and sign of impending rebirth for centuries.

Maybe they're on to something. As our schedules grow increasingly busy with the approaching holidays, maybe this is a good time to pause and be thankful -- not only for the gaining daylight, but for a moment when the sun stands still and we can pause to remember how lucky we each are.