The Sun in Winter Solstice

I was a little disappointed when I missed the lunar eclipse in December 21. I had been waiting for it but unfortunately, the sky was thick with clouds that time. 

However, I felt blessed the following day when I looked at the horizon and noticed something different where the sun should be. A conical glow shot up from behind the forested horizon. I took the bus to wherever I could see it without distraction, and that led me to the city river. And I was glad I went there because what greeted my eyes was something I've never seen before. And then I realized that it was the beginning of the winter solstice. I'm not really sure whether the sun looks like this during the start of the winter solstice, or it just happened to look different that day.  But nobody seemed to notice. Or is it a common sight among the people here? Or they just don't care? For me, it seemed almost phenomenal. And so I took several shots in different angles. It was 1:00 in the afternoon of December 22.

In the evening when the moon showed up, I also noticed the same conical glow above and under its disk, as seen in this photo. The glow could be more striking in this photo if I used a tripod. Without tripod, this is all I got. 

I felt that it was a day filled with marvels. Another day that declares the presence of a Powerful Creator who has filled the universe with astonishing things that can move his intelligent creation to attribute power, glory and honor to him, like these verses penned down by an ancient psalmist,

"To you the day belongs; also, to you the night belongs.

You yourself prepared the luminary, even the sun.

It was you that set up all the boundaries of the earth;

Summer and winter—you yourself formed them."

- Psalm 74:16,17