Today Will Be The Darkest Day Of The Year But It's Going To Start Getting Brighter Soon

Happy first day of winter, Canada! December 21 marks the beginning of the season, as well as being the day with the least amount of sunlight all year.

According to The Weather Network, this happens "when one of the Earth's poles is at its maximum tilt away from the Sun," which is a phenomenon that happens twice a year in each hemisphere.

While the day will have less sunshine than any other day of the year, it's actually good news for December 22 and onwards.

"After we reach the winter solstice, the days begin to once again grow longer and longer until we reach the summer solstice—the first day of summer and the longest day of the year," says The Farmer's Almanac. "Think of it this way: Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of more sunlight. It only gets brighter from here!"

When the summer solstice occurs six months from now in June, it marks the longest day of the year, which means it's the day with the most sunlight.

As for the equinox's, which occur in March and September, that's when the day and night are roughly equal in length.

In terms of how the beginning of winter is going to shape up for the next few days, TWN has released a prediction on which areas will be seeing a white Christmas.

Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg are pretty much guaranteed to see snow on the ground, with a high chance of it happening in Calgary and Regina, too. There will be a good chance for snow on December 25 in Vancouver and Kelowna, but a low chance of it happening in Vancouver.

There will be a medium chance for snow in Toronto, and a high chance for it in Ottawa and Montreal. Quebec City is all but guaranteed to have a white Christmas.

As for out east, Halifax has a low chance, Charlottetown and St. John's have a medium chance and Fredericton has a high chance of seeing snow.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.