Ben Lowry: The days will be getting longer again from Tuesday

We are almost at the darkest point of the year in a country, Northern Ireland, that is so far north in Europe that it gets very dark indeed.

Tuesday will be December 21, the shortest day of the year, followed by the glorious period when the days begin to get brighter — imperceptibly at first, then more noticeably, and ultimately rapidly.

No wonder in such a latitude people have been celebrating this time of year since long before the birth of Christ.

And yet, for all the gloom of late November and early December, particularly on grey, wet, windy and chilly days — of which we have had a few recently — there is always the compensation of the sunny days. There are always some sunny days at this point in the calendar. They have extra magic for two reasons.

First, because of their rarity, given the sparse amounts of daylight, let alone sunshine.

Second because of the low angle of the sun.

When it does emerge in early or mid December, it does so in rare and often special ways, suddenly emerging from behind a tree or between buildings to light up a room or a scene at an angle it lacks at any other time.

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• Ben Lowry Dec 11: Joint anthem at Northern Ireland games would be a ploy to undermine it

• Ben Lowry Dec 4: It is a great pity to see York St road plan in Belfast slipping away

• Ben Lowry Nov 27: EU will see John Kyle’s remarks as sign of unionist support for NI Protocol

• Ben Lowry Nov 20: The prospects of Article 16 being triggered are receding

• Ben Lowry Nov 20: Reticence around requiring NHS workers to be vaccinated

• Ben Lowry Nov 13: Essays in 2010 about NI on its 2021 centenary foresaw province staying in UK but not change from within

• Ben Lowry Nov 6: A poll that finds support for UK, DUP and ending protocol checks – not something you hear often

• Ben Lowry Oct 30: The return of inflation will suit debtors and punish savers

• Ben Lowry Oct 30: Tribute this week to a great News Letter columnist Ralph Bud Bossence

• Ben Lowry Oct 23:Centenary church service should have celebrated Northern Ireland

• Ben Lowry Oct 16: Lord Frost’s speech on NI reflected notably more robust UK tactics

• Ben Lowry Oct 16: David Amess was a conscientious Tory MP who always seemed to be smiling

• A message from the new editor Ben Lowry

• Ben Lowry Oct 9: Echoes of 2019, as Boris Johnson fails to proclaim his unionism in speech

• Ben Lowry Oct 2: Unionism could make great headway lobbying in the United States

• Ben Lowry Oct 2: A belated happy 284th birthday to ourselves at the News Letter!

• A link to 2021 columns by Ben Lowry

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