Set the alarm to celebrate more daylight as the winter solstice rolls into town,
You'll have to get up early though. The event takes place at 4:21 a.m.
The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight, making it the “shortest day” and "longest night."
It's the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Starting tomorrow, days will be getting longer as the winter solstice takes place, The winter solstice in North Bay is 6 hours, 31 minutes shorter than the summer solstice.
The Sun is lowest in the sky at this time, as the Earth's North Pole points away from the Sun.
There are two solstices every year, one in December and one in June.
Longest Night service
If you are looking to mark the occasion, try the "Longest Night" service of music and candle-lit prayers at Freelton-Strabane United Church on Saturday evening.
"As we move towards the longest night of the year, the joy of Christmas can be overshadowed by pain from the loss of a loved one or challenges in life," notes the church on it website. "Join us ... for this special service; a time to own the grief of the season, light a candle and know that you are not alone."
The service takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. at the 1565 Brock Road church.
Days start getting longer, colder
Even though the days get longer, it continues to get colder for the next couple of months.
That's because the land and air continue to lose heat faster than solar heat arrives, There is a lag time between when the Earth was farthest from the Sun in July.
The Earth is closest to the sun in early January when it's winter for the Northern Hemisphere, and we're farthest away from the sun in early July, during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
In the coming days. daylight increases by only a few seconds a day, but by the time the Vernal Equinox (Mar 20, 5:01 a.m.) arrives, the day length increases by two minutes and 31 seconds each day. At the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.