Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Those experiencing the winter doldrums can count on seeing more sunlight after the winter solstice arrived at 2:21 a.m. EST Saturday. The winter solstice marks the first official day of winter when all locations south of the equator have more than 12 hours of sunlight while all locations north of the equator have less than 12 hours of daylight. Advertisement "Happy winter solstice!" the National Weather Service Prediction Center posted on X . "Today marks the first day of