Welcome to First Day of Winter

Today — as the winter solstice in the United States — is the shortest day of the year, as measured by the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset. That means not much time is left to send holiday greetings for Hanukkah that just started this week, Christmas that will be in three days and Kwanzaa that will come four days from now. Note:  Ramadan, a special month of fasting for Muslims, occurs in January according to the Islamic calendar.

Today will be the shortest of the year because the sun is farthest south, making Earth the closest to the sun as it ever gets — despite the colder temperatures that occur in and actually making it feel opposite of that reality.

Industry estimates are that 7 billion greeting cards will be sold this year, but the truth is that there now are a variety of ways to issue greetings.

Please participate in the accompanying Patch poll to see what method is most preferred in our community.