Happy Solstice!

Today is the "beginning" of Winter, that day of the year when the peculiarities of the Earth and its orbit 'round the Sun gives those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere the fewest hours of daylight. Due to the fact Earth is tilted on its axis 23.44°, those of us in the north are leaning away from the Sun. If you were standing at the Arctic Circle, you'd probably be really cold, and the Sun would not appear over the horizon today. At roughly noon today In the rest of the hemisphere the Sun will be at its lowest point above the horizon; from here on out it will rise higher each day until the Summer Solstice, at which point it will start going the other way.

By the way, if you were standing on Antarctic Circle, the Sun would not set today - it is the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere - the Austral Summer begins today.

I kind of like what the Bad Astronomer had to say about winter celebrations:

Anyway, the Winter Solstice has always been a time of celebration, because ancient people -- more closely tied with the skies due to agriculture and no light pollution -- knew that it meant the Sun was coming back up, and spring was coming. We celebrate it in modern times by going into debt. We're far more sophisticated these days.

Don't know about where you are, but I won't be seeing any sun today if the forecast is correct - more snow coming tomorrow and it is all socked in this morning.