Saturday 1 January 2011

New Year seems a bit of an odd celebration to me. It is, after all, an entirely artificial point in the calendar. If one were looking for a significant date in the calendar that was a transitional point surely the Winter Solstice would be better, not from a pseudo-Druidic religious viewpoint, but from a celestial mechanics perspective it is the point at which the days start to  lengthen and therefore a more logical point to mark the end of one year and the beginning of another.

I appreciate that the majority in the Judea / Christian world go with 1st January but I just think it's a bit odd and to me 21st December is more significant as I know, from that point, that the days are getting longer and that, in time, the Spring will arrive with the associated explosion of life.

Even this suggestion is somewhat globally localised as the Southern Hemisphere would look to 21st June as their New Year as this is the point at which their days lengthen again.

Putting this aside, we had a normal Saturday really. Christmas debris was cleared and the pile of logs deposited near the garage just before Christmas was stacked under a tarpaulin with the assistance of TP.

We went to my Dad's for dinner and he had done a beautiful roast leg of lamb and, to 30%'s delight, a trifle for dessert.

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