I love to celebrate solstices and equinoxes. I feel the entire Northern Hemisphere should celebrate these four days the same way as other big holidays. It is amazing to think that yesterday, December 21, (the Winter Solstice), was the day with the shortest amount of daylight: 9 hours, 11 minutes, and 26 seconds. This is 5 hours and 58 minutes shorter than June 21, the Summer Solstice. It is fascinating that the number of daylight hours varies by almost 6 hours at 41 degrees north latitude. Starting today, December 22, the daylight hours lengthen gradually, getting that additional six hours back! Today’s daylight is 2 seconds longer than yesterday, with a 7:45 AM sunrise and 4:57 PM sunset. I photographed the sunrise view from one of our spare bedrooms and the sunset from the bridge over the Ankhor Canal.
The highlight of the day was walking along the Ankhor Canal with our guests, Sarah, Emma, and Beau. Temperatures were pretty much below-freezing the entire day so it was a brisk walk. It is one of my favorite things to do in Tashkent and it was nice to share it with visitors. I love snow and ice! We warmed up by stopping at Bon Cafe for hot chocolates and later on the Tashkent Food Mall. In between taking care of work stuff, I watched the College Football Playoffs, did some yoga and just hung out and talked with my family. A great day!
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