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So the fact that this is the last day in 2024 is fairly arbitrary, and generally not notable. But if this causes you to donate to @conservancy today over other days: today is the last chance to donate in 2024 to SFC! Please support our work. We have until 1/15 to raise about $90k. We can do it!
https://sfconservancy.org/sustainer/
Also, while arbitrary, it's still a nice marking of the time - happy new year! Come have a beverage with us at our AMA in 20 minutes!
https://lists.sfconservancy.org/pipermail/announce/2024/000129.html
sima@karen @conservancy random silly fact, January 1st isn't a random day, it's when the sun starts rising earlier again in the northern hemisphere. which is not the same as the shortest day, because of the ellipsoid path the earth takes around the sun
so quite a thing to celebrate for people living up north who get the big sad when the sun isn't there
@sima I love that, good point!
@karen it's also much easier to measure with the necessary accuracy of a few seconds to pinpoint the exact day than the shortest day. which is I guess why we celebrate that one instead of have new year on 22nd December or thereabouts
all you need is a big lake or the sea for flat horizon, a marker on the horizon in roughly the right direction like a cliff of an island, and a peg to mark the exact observation spot. takes a few years at most to dial it in
@sima Actually, we've been celebrating winter solstice with much better accuracy than jan 31st in the Nordics much longer than we've been celebrating new year. I think your explanation fits better to Christmas, because that's basically a Christian rebrand of our pagan tradition. New year used to be at equinox, but has drifted over the years and been kinda arbitrarily moved with the move to different calendars, and seems to have little to do with the solstice... @karen @conservancy