Is it valid to be annoyed when, as your plane pulls up to the gate at your destination, a flight attendant tells you and your fellow passengers, just before deplaning, to “have a blessed day”? Perhaps ...

The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, and is marked with traditions and celebrations around the world.

Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day," celebrating the winter solstice, is also a children's book illustrated by Carson Ellis. They collaborated by mail.