Goodbye Darkness, Hello Light

The early hours of tomorrow sees the Winter Solstice during the longest night of the year, marking the start of the shortest day. From then the nights start to shorten and days lengthen (daylight increases by around 2 minutes per week) and we head towards spring and summer.
"The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In other words, it is when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. Depending on the Gregorian calendar, the December solstice occurs annually on a day between December 20 and December 23. On this date, all places above a latitude of 66.5 degrees north (Arctic Polar Circle) are now in darkness, while locations below a latitude of 66.5 degrees south (Antarctic Polar Circle) receive 24 hours of daylight" - http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html

Like many of Pagan persuasion I marked this signifcant time of year - Yule - by adorning my front door and house with holly, ivy and mistletoe and lighting a bonfire before bed tonight, to help drive out the darkness and welcome the light back into our lives.
My fire has to be fairly modest and created in a garden waste incinerator bin. As they say - size doesn't matter! After being out as usual on a Wednesday, until gone 10.30, a while after return my fire was lit and maintained for around 3/4 of an hour, whilst I sat in quiet contemplation for some time.
From now on it's all downhill folks!
Blessings.