Not to be confused with my post Festive Fonts Friday (Christmas Eve Edition), which will appear on Saturday the 25th.
Image above: “Diagram of the Earth’s seasons as seen from the north.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice
Tuesday, December 21 at 15:59 Universal Time is this year’s winter or summer solstice! (Former: Northern Hemisphere; latter: Southern Hemisphere.) UT is 8 hours ahead of Pacific Time, so for here in San Francisco the solstice is Tuesday, December 21 at 07:59 am.
Next: science! Wait, don’t run away, this is cool. Due to the tilt of Earth’s axis while we orbit our beloved Sun, we have seasons: periods of greater or lesser daylight and warmth. Combined with other atmospheric phenomena, we have rain, snow, dryness, wind. All the stuff! Yay tilt!
The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”), because at the solstices, the Sun’s declination appears to “stand still”; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) stops at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.
Below are an orbit diagram and a solstice closeup, for the more visually oriented of us. Scroll to the very bottom for a chart with exact times.
And because I am me, I’ve curated for you three very different typefaces called “Solstice”—or in one case, “Solstice of Suffering.” If anyone can explain that name to me, please feel free. Peak suffering, after which the suffering wanes, only to be reborn again in six months? It all seems a bit dubious. In any case, scroll partway down for those.
Here are times for solstices (peak light/dark) and equinoxes (days with equal daylight and dark, in spring and fall).
Event
Month
Year
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Equinox
March
Day
20
29
20
20
20
–
–
Time
21:58
03:50
09:37
15:33
21:24
Solstice
June
Day
21
10
21
21
20
–
–
Time
15:54
21:44
03:32
09:14
14:58
Equinox
Sept.
Day
23
22
22
23
23
–
–
Time
07:50
13:31
19:21
01:04
06:50
Solstice
Dec.
Day
22
21
21
21
22
–
–
Time
04:19
10:02
15:59
21:48
03:27
So yeah, fonts! Here are three “Solstice” type designs.
https://fontmeme.com/fonts/winter-solstice-font/
Free.
Jagged and heavy, this typeface recalls the dreary days waiting for the light to return. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. This will never end. Oh God I loathe life.
https://www.fontspring.com/fonts/atlantic-fonts/solstice
Single styles from $26.
This bouncy, light typeface is almost certainly a reference to the summer solstice, especially as the font designer has placed the type on a light blue background.
https://www.dafont.com/solstice.font
Free.
Winter solstice, obviously: deformed, hand drawn letterforms, dripping with blood or tar. The designer’s name is Leon Muerte. “Muerte” means “death” in Spanish and is probably not his birth name.
