The first eight days of 2026 are a test of our enthusiasm, our optimism and the studs under our boots. After what we hope was a cozy and comfortable holiday season, the year has begun uncomfortably. It’s dark, it’s cold, the ground is so slippery that a stroll down the street turns into a particularly unbearable episode of Mission: Impossible.
But, above all, it’s dark all the time – or so it seems when you look outside. It’s very typical of Montreal winters, but it’s something we forget every summer… Fortunately, the darkest days of winter are almost over.
This week, from January 5 to 11, 2026, we gain almost 10 minutes of sunshine…
Solstices, equinoxes and another tilted turn around the sun
December 21 marked the winter solstice – the longest night of the year.The winter solstice is an atronomical event due to the tilt of the earth’s axis in relation to the planet’s orbit around the sun. From the equinox (September 22) to the winter solstice (December 21), the northern hemisphere – which includes Canada – is farther from the sun’s warm rays than the rest of the year.
We get less sun, and the days get shorter and colder (very quickly this year, brrrrr…..). Nights grow longer, culminating in the longest night of the year, the night of the solstice.
After this long night, the hours of sunlight lengthen.
10 minutes more sun
According to the instagram account @plateau_astro, which explores and explains astronomical events in the skies above Montreal, we’ll gain 10 minutes of sunlight between January 5 and 11, 2026.
This is thanks to the earth’s axis in its journey around the sun – after the solstice, the axis favors us and brings us more and more light. This week, we gain 1.5 minutes of sunshine a day, thanks to earlier sunsets and later sunrises…
- Monday January 5, 2026 – sunrise: 7:34 am / sunset: 4:26 pm
- Tuesday January 6, 2026 – sunrise: 7:34 am / sunset: 4:27 pm
- wednesday, january 7, 2026 – sunrise: 7:34 am / sunset: 4:28 pm
- Thursday, January 8, 2026 – sunrise: 7:33 am / sunset: 4:29 pm
- Friday, January 9, 2026 – sunrise: 7:33 am / sunset: 4:30 pm
- Saturday, January 10, 2026 – sunrise: 7:33 am / sunset: 4:31 pm
- Sunday, January 11, 2026 – sunrise: 7:32 am / sunset: 4:32 pm
And, from Friday January 9, the sun sets after 4.30pm! Think of all the things we can do in the sun!
Good luck, and don’t forget to get out and enjoy the light!