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The dark nights are upon us; it's time to fall back. The good end of the bargain is everyone gets a 25-hour day on Sunday. If your clocks are advanced enough to do the work for you, they should jump backward in the wee hours of Sunday morning from the last moment of 1:59 a.m. to 1 a.m. If not, society expects you to push the buttons or twist the dials and manage the time-traveling yourself.

It's the northern hemisphere's shortest day and longest night of the year. No matter where you live on Earth, the solstice happens at the same instant -- Dec. 21 at 3:47 p.m. CST. It’s when the sun reaches its farthest southward point for the year, and when noontime shadows are the longest of the year.

Day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet on this day. The official Central Standard Time moment of spring equinox in the northern hemisphere is 4:24 p.m.

Summer solstice occurs when the Earth's rotational axis is most inclined toward the star it orbits. The Sun reaches its highest position in the sky on this day, and the Earth's gravity pulls humans toward beaches.

It’s the northern hemisphere’s shortest day and longest night of the year. No matter where you live on Earth, the solstice happens at the same instant: Dec. 21 at 9:27 p.m. CST. It’s when the sun reaches its farthest southward point for the year, and when noontime shadows are the longest of the year.