We can appreciate that the Winter Solstice- the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere from a daylight perspective, is the shortest day on every latitude line North of the equator. At the equator on the solstice, the day is split exactly 50/50 between day and night, with 12 hours of sunlight. At the Tropic of Cancer (Lat 23.30 N) the daylight is 10.5 hours. At the arctic, there’s 0 hours of sunlight.
In Manchester Vermont, the daylight on December 21 will be just shy of 9 hours, by one minute, at 8 hours and 59 minutes.
Here’s Manchester’s sunrise sunset calendar:
https://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?comb_city_info=Manchester%2520Center%252C%2520Vermont%252C%2520USA;73.0435;43.1778;-5;1&month=12&year=2017&want_mphase=1&want_info=1&back=Search
In Garrison, NY, the daylight on December 21 will be 9 hours 11 minutes.
Garrison’s sunset calendar:
https://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?comb_city_info=Garrison%252C%2520New%2520York%252C%2520USA;73.9149;41.34;-5;1&month=12&year=2017&want_mphase=1&want_info=1&back=Search
So Garrison NY’s shortest day of the year is in fact 12 minutes longer than Manchester VT’s shortest day of the year. Not a huge difference, for sure. But day after day, this difference in latitude compounds, and the winter days being slightly shorter a couple parallels North does make for noticeable climate differences, and impacts on culture, agriculture, and daily life, throughout time.
The shortness of ‘the shortest day of the year’ is unique to each latitude, and the day will be slightly shorter in Manchester Vermont (43rd Parallel), in comparison with Garrison, NY (41st parallel). Going East and West of Manchester around the world however, the shortest day of the year will be exactly just as short as in Manchester.
Same Line, Same Light.