Monday, December 23, 2013

Winter Solstice Celebration

The Winter Solstice is the one day of the year we have the least amount of daylight and the longest amount of darkness. There are about 9hrs:19min:57s of daylight, compared to the summer solstice (save the date for 6/21/14) which has around 15 hours of daylight!
This change in day length is due to the direction of the Earth's tilt relative to its rotation around the sun. During the winter solstice the Earth's tilt is directed away from the sun, and during the summer solstice the tilt is pointed towards the sun. 

This occurrence is celebrated in all corners of the world on December 21st. From this date on, the days become longer until we reach the summer solstice. Celebrations are centered around light and warmth to symbolize the coming of the light. 

TLC has celebrated the Winter Solstice for four years by offering people the chance to gather and enjoy time together atop of our Crossfield Hill - a special spot on our Stateline Woods Preserve that would have been a road leading to a 32 house development if not for our conservation efforts.

Our 2013 Winter Solstice Celebration took place this past Saturday (December 21st) and included a winter time story-teller, Dagmar Holl, who told Lenni Lenape stories of the origin of light and the evergreen tree. Food, drinks and conversation was enjoyed by all. The children especially enjoyed lighting and decorating the evergreen tree atop Crossfield Hill. 

Stay tuned for details on our solstice events in 2014



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