Today is the winter solstice

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year, after which the Northern Hemisphere slowly tilts back towards the Sun and the days grow longer.  I think sunsets are already getting later in the day again, but the cold nights still get longer up to the solstice.  Even with the rise of monotheist religions, there are still many major religious festivals in December, probably because of the solstice.  But many cultures at one time considered spring to be the beginning of the year. 

 

This also happens to be the anniversary of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin's birth in Gori, Georgia, in 1879.  There is apparently some confusion in books I have read about whether the date was in early December and possibly in 1878, but the month is right.  This is just a short post, but if you want to know why Stalin is an important and positive figure, see the links at right, such as the articles on Stalin at www.allianceml.com.  Some of his works are online at www.marx2mao.com.