Well, these last few rainy days have brought all the leaves down, and the trees are looking bare and desolate. And the sun sets at 4:30 in the afternoon. A bit depressing, in my opinion. Thank goodness that in cultures throughout the world, this time of year is one for celebrations of light. Diwali, Hanukkah, and finally Christmas give us an opportunity to rejoice in the light, even as the days slowly begin to grow in length.

Speaking of daylight, I found this handy dandy website called Time and Date www.timeanddate.com that lets you know exactly how much daylight you get each day. Right now in New York, we are getting 9 hours and 49 minutes of daylight per day. On June 21, we normally get 15 hours and 5 minutes of daylight. So if you are feeling light-deprived, you are correct.

That’s why we must put up those Christmas trees and lights and fill the windows with cozy candles. We need to have light.

I can’t imagine living any further north where the days are even shorter. In Reykjavik, Iceland, the sun now rises at 10:06 a.m. and sets at 4:18 p.m., so enjoy those 6 hours and 11 minutes of daytime. And it does get worse, culminating in the shortest day of the year, December 21, when the Icelandic sun rises at 11:22 a.m. and sets at 3:29 p.m., for a 4-hour and 7-minute day. You’re gonna need a whole lot of candles to counteract that.

Meanwhile, in Miami, Florida, being closer to the equator really pays off. Daybreak is 6:41 a.m. and sunset comes around 5:30 p.m., giving Floridians a 10-hour and 49-minute day. That extra hour of daylight may explain Florida’s popularity this time of year for those who are feeling sun-deprived up north.

If you split the difference and go to Charlotte, North Carolina, you’ll see a 10-hour and 15-minute day, give or take. Which I would take.

But we’ll hang in there, like we always do. Keep the home fires burning, put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving (actually Hanukkah is celebrated right after Thanksgiving this year), and fight the darkness with celebrations of light.

And before we know it, we will be seeing the days lengthen and after some snowmaggedons we will be seeing the earth thaw and our daffodils begin to push their green leaves through the mud.

It’s a cycle, dear friends, that seems to move faster every year.