12-21-1980 16:52 12-22-1990 03:07 12-21-2000 13:23
12-21-1981 22:41 12-22-1991 08:56 12-21-2001 19:12
12-22-1982 04:31 12-21-1992 14:47 12-22-2002 01:01
12-22-1983 10:20 12-21-1993 20:36 12-22-2003 06:51
12-21-1984 16:10 12-22-1994 02:25 12-21-2004 12:41
12-21-1985 22:00 12-22-1995 08:14 12-21-2005 18:30
12-22-1986 03:49 12-21-1996 14:05 12-22-2006 00:20
12-22-1987 09:38 12-21-1997 19:54 12-22-2007 06:09
12-21-1988 15:29 12-22-1998 01:43 12-21-2008 11:59
12-21-1989 21:18 12-22-1999 07:32 12-21-2009 17:49

This table shows you the exact time of the winter solstice and its date for various years. Note that the dates cycle between 21 and 22 December and the times are in 24-hour notation.

But it seems obvious that if we have a shortest day in a gradient progression the longest night will be the one just before or the one just after it -- more likely the one before it, since the solstice marks the point where days start growing longer in the cycle. There are only 24 hours in a full day cycle (rounded to the nearest whole hour). ANy time in that cycle not occupied by "day" must be occupied by "night" unless you want to complicate things with nautical twilight, crepuscule, and such middling zones.



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