Winter officially arrived in the community

Winter is finally here! While the snow may have been playing hide and seek with us this month, winter officially arrived on Monday morning at 5:02 EST. Winter Solstice is both the shortest day and the longest night of the year. From this point on, until the Summer Solstice on June 20, 2021, the amount of daylight increases about 2 minutes per day. It's always fun to track the decreasing sunset times as they move downward, however slowly.

This year’s Winter Solstice brought an additional surprise in the form of a Great Conjunction. During this special celestial phenomenon, the reflected light of a close conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter combined to give us a "Christmas Star'' in the southwestern portion of the sky, starting on Solstice evening and lasting for the next several nights. Since most Solstice traditions involve chasing away the dark with some form of light (candles, yule logs, bonfires), having an unusually bright star in the sky seems like an ideal occurrence!

And speaking of traditions, if you are looking for some last-minute holiday recipe inspiration, look no further than our digital library. Whether it's traditional and classic, a new fun addition to your meal, or a project to share with your children, we've got you covered.

In America, we usually think of winter holiday meals as warm, cozy and comforting. Explore A to Z Food America, by state, region, or ethnicity to discover the many delicious ways our country cooks for the season. But what about the rest of the world? A to Z World Food has a special occasion foods section that explains the festive traditions of varied cultures around the globe and offers some amazing and unique recipes for their celebration.

So if you are trying to locate an iconic crowd-pleaser, hunt up a new version of an old family recipe, need something meatless, or are just hoping to find an impressive holiday centerpiece, browse these collections today! If you would like to find out more about the Winter Solstice and the traditions surrounding it, or about the astronomy behind the conjunction, go online to the Digital Library or come into the Library to find some great information on these topics.

Cynthia Taylor is on staff at the East Bonner County Library District.