A teacher wanted to know why the day of the winter solstice was not also the day with the latest sunrise. USA TODAY has a great description—basically this occurs because the earliest sunset and latest sunrise don’t occur on the winter solstice because the sun is not highest in the sky at precisely noon each day. A related description with pictures is also available, and why day and night are not equal on the equinox. You may also be interested in why the longest days are not the warmest.