Reminded of the solstice by the good folks at Old Shaw Farm, I look forward to the ever extending light on the shortest day of the year.

the solstice is either of the two times a year when the Sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator, the great circle on the celestial sphere that is on the same plane as the earth's equator.

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. 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.

The precise moment of the 2004 solstice will be December 21, 2004 at 7:42 A.M. EST.

Solstice Time -infoplease