Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice!  I am thankful that after today the days will start to get longer and the nights shorter.  The sun doesn’t rise in our neck of the woods until around 7:47 AM and it sets at 4:10 PM, that’s only a mere 8 hours and 23 minutes of potential sunlight, if the sun decides to come out.  I read on an internet site, The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice. Hence the origin of the word solstice, which comes from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and -stitium, "a stoppage." Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter."  As long as the days get longer, I will be happy!