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The tilted Earth shows its underbelly to the sun, and so those of us in the north make do with our long under-dose of sunlight.  But the solstitial extremity passed 10 days ago, and the light moves with astronomical slowness back up her chilly shoulders.

This thing is dressed up in a slightly mis-stiched quilt of months and days and weeks and leap days - sewn in a long, proud, often exasperated tradition of keeping the proper feasts and sowings and harvestings falling where they should without too much obvious cheating by princes and astrologers.  All that brings us to "new year's day", when we collectively notice that time not only flows past, but cycles back to us every time.

And so it does.  Cool.  Happy New Year everyone!

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