The end of the darkest month

December 1st, 2024

I can live with the darkness and pointlessness of November. I have managed 50 Novembers so far in my life, some of them even with full awareness and consciousness of the time of the season. By purely numerical metrics, December is the darkest month of the year, but numbers can lie, and they do often — like in this case. It is clearly November, which is the darkest month. December is very short. It only lasts 21 days. On the 21st, the most important day of the year happens — the winter solstice, when the yearly renewal starts. About the same day, everything gets shut down for the year. Those last ten days of December don't count for anything calendarwise, they are just there. In December, also the holiday season starts and brings respite for the drudgery. There are also plenty of artificial lights and cheerfulness throughout December, so no — it is not the darkest.

It is very possible that I can even enjoy November. There is something soothing in early darkness and constant overcast skies and constant freezing drizzle. Of course, plenty of things outside of that have to happen — like having a clear head and no stress — for me to be able to enjoy it. It didn't happen this year, maybe it will in the next. But anyway, it is very fitting that the first day of December brought plenty of sunshine and just enough manageable coldness. I enjoyed my walk this morning. There are only three more weeks to go before December ends and the yearly official rebirth starts.