Noon

Related Topics:
Noon,_Jeff :: Noonan_Syndrome :: Noonamah :: Noonan

Noon is the time exactly halfway through the day, written 12:00 in the 24-hour clock and 12:00 noon (or PM) in the 12-hour clock. Midday is also used as a synonym for noon, although this may also be a more general term to mean around noon, or very early afternoon.

Solar noon is when the sun appears the highest in the sky (nearest zenith), compared to its positions during the rest of the day. It occurs when the Sun is transitting the celestial meridian. This is also the origin of the terms ante meridiem and post meridiem. At solar noon, the sun is due south in the Northern Hemisphere, and due north in the Southern Hemisphere. (Actually, this is not strictly true, but the maximum difference between noon and sun due-south is a mere 16 seconds of time at 45 degrees North latitude, and 3 minutes at 85^oN.) The Sun is directly overhead at solar noon at the equator on the equinoxes; at Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23½°N) on the summer solstice in June; and at Tropic of Capricorn (23½°S) on the winter solstice in December.

The opposite of noon is midnight.

Etymology

The word "noon" is derived from Latin nona hora, the ninth hour of the day. As the Roman day started on 6.00 a.m., at sunrise, the first hour would have been from 6.00 till 7.00 a.m and the ninth hour from 2.00 till 3.00 p.m. These hours were important in monasteries, as different prayers were held on them.

The English word "noon" originally applied at 2.00 p.m., but by 1100 AD the meaning had shifted to "midday". (see: ^*)

Cultural meanings

In traditional magical thinking, both noon and its opposite, midnight, form an axis linking the mundane world with otherworlds by being apogee of light and darkness, respectively. Thus, noon is associated with heaven, order and life.

Touching the sacrum

Central points of day and night were seen as moments when sacrum manifests itself and epiphanies were most likely. Thus, a noon prayer, healing practice and ritual magic were thought to be most effective - if their intentions were related to themes associated with day, of course. Also, numerous plants, animals, substances and other items harvested at noon were believed to have special, magical qualities and powers helpful in ritual practices.

Sun resting

As it seems, the Sun stops its voyage at noon, where it was thought to rest for a while. By standards of magical thinking this stillness is sacred, as Otherworlds themselves are still and static. It was thought that at noon, Otherworld pristine conditions were present, bringing the state of primordial chaos to the world.

This resulted in the taboo of working at noon, as work is associated with culture and civilization and therefore anathema to nature and chaos. So, the act of working at noon is viewed as human will contradicting the natural (or God-given) order. As a result, in folklore there is widespread belief that working at noon is vain and even harmful.

Demons of noon

Persons breaking the taboo of working at noon were subject to chastisement by demons of noon. They are present in many mythologies, from Arabian and Hebrew mythology, where they were represented by dust devils, to Slavic mythology, where all sorts of wilas, and topielecs haunted the offending folk at noon such as the Pscipolnitsa. They universally caused hyperthermia resulting in aches, madness or drowning.

Midday is more general than noon

In contrast to the precise meaning of 'noon', 'midday' has rather looser connotations. Midday is the period of early afternoon, beginning at noon and lasting until mid-afternoon. In England, it is customary to take a midday meal sometime between noon and 3 p.m.; no-one suggests taking a noon meal. 'Midday' is effectively a contraction of "middle of the day".