Up here in the northern half of the world, today is the winter solstice. And on the darkest day at the tail end of the bleakest year in recent memory, it might be worth remembering that things could be worse.
In terms of winter bleakness, few places can match the Russian village of Oymyakon. If you check their current weather by clicking here, chances are it’s a fair bit bleaker than the weather is wherever you are. As well as holding the record for the coldest permanently inhabited place in the world, it is also known for…well, nothing. As far as I can tell, the village’s 500 inhabitants have two pastimes: trying not to die, and seeing how fast it takes boiling water to freeze when you throw it outside.
So yes, no matter how bleak things seem, there’s always someone in a bleaker situation.
But if you need more than winter schadenfreude to cheer you up, see if you can take a peek at the night sky this evening. Tonight – the longest, darkest night of the year – Jupiter and Saturn will provide a bit of literal light at the end of the figurative tunnel by appearing closer in the sky than they have for centuries: an event that some people are calling the “Christmas Star”.
I know the planets aren’t doing it on purpose, but it does seem awfully nice of them to collaborate on this particular night in this particular year. So if you can, wrap up nice and warm and see if you can spot this planetary conjunction tonight. And if you can bring some headphones with you, listen to this carol by Gustav Holst – a composer whose most famous piece is, fittingly, The Planets.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. I sometimes mistake Holst’s original setting of this carol for the also-excellent setting by Harold Darke. They’re quite similar, but Holst’s has a chilly restraint about it, as if it’s trying to conserve energy by not moving around too much.
2. Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo (featured in week 270) adds some 21st-century dissonance, with each phrase ending on a surprising and suspenseful chord.
3. There’s a wonderful high note at 4.36 that has a distinctly star-atop-the-tree feeling to it.
Recommended listening activity:
Cradling a mug of hot chocolate in your mittens.