Thursday, December 22, 2005

Winter solstice

Much burning of paper offerings last night, more again tonight. Why? To celebrate the winter solstice (冬至 literally, winter extreme). The Hong Kong Observatory is forecasting a very cold night -- below 10C.
Hereabouts, on a little island in the South China Sea, it is currently (2:30pm) a glorious sunshine, blue-sky day. Moreover, it is the warmest (17.7C) spot in the region. By way of comparison: Hong Kong Observatory weatherstation is 14C and at Ngong Ping it is 8C. For more about the commercialisation and 'moneytization' of the latter: Ngong Ping 360.
Anyway, granted that we all stay around long enough, those of us who live on a little island in the South China Sea, ce soir we can look forward to a cloudless, starry night. Air pollution, or lack thereof, permitting. And for anyone elsewhere? Wherever you are, night and day, have a great winter solstice.

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