Midnight is, literally, "the middle of the night".
In most systems it is when one day ends and the next begins: when
the date changes. Originally midnight was halfway between
sunset and
dawn, varying
according to the
seasons.
Solar midnight is that time opposite of
solar
noon, when the sun is closest to
nadir and
the night is equidistant from dusk and dawn. Due to the advent of
time zones, which make time identical
across a range of
meridian, and
daylight saving time, it rarely
coincides with midnight on a clock. Solar midnight is dependent on
longitude, latitude, altitude, and time of the year rather than on
a time zone.
Start and end of day
Midnight marks the beginning and ending of each day in civil time
throughout the world. It is the dividing point between one day and
another.
But it is unknown as to whether "midnight" belongs to the previous
day or the next day. I.e., if we are to meet at "midnight December
24th," is that at the beginning of Dec. 24th or the end?
With
12-hour time notation, most
authorities recommend avoiding confusion by using "midnight", "12
midnight", or "12:00 midnight".
Digital clocks and computers commonly display 12 a.m. for midnight.
While that phrase may be used practically, it helps to understand
that any particular time is actually an instant. The "a.m." shown
on clock displays refers to the 12-hour period following the
instant of midnight, not to the instant itself. In other words,
11:59 p.m. shows until midnight; at the instant of midnight it
flips to 12:00. Simultaneously, the p.m. flips to a.m., though,
strictly speaking, a.m. does not apply to the instant of midnight
which separates p.m. and a.m.
In
24-hour time notation, "00:00" and
"00:00:00" refer to midnight at the start of a given date. Some
styles, such as
ISO 8601, allow 24:00
to refer to the end of a day. Noon is 12:00:00.
While computers and digital clocks display "12:00 a.m." and "12:00
p.m.", those notations provide no clear and unambiguous way to
distinguish between midnight and noon. It is actually improper to
use "a.m." and "p.m." when referring to 12:00. The abbreviation
a.m. stands for
ante meridiem or
before noon and
p.m. stands for
post meridiem or
after noon.
Since noon and midnight are neither after noon nor before noon,
neither abbreviation is correct (although the length of the error
is determined by the smallest unit of time — 12:00:01 p.m. would be
correctly notated). Similarly, midnight is both twelve hours before
as well as twelve hours after noon, so both are ambiguous as to the
date intended.
The most common ways to represent these times are, (a) to use a
24-hour clock (00:00 and 12:00, 24:00), (b) to use "12 noon" or "12
midnight", although unless the person is referring to a general
time and not a specific day, "12 midnight" is still ambiguous, (c)
to specify it between two successive days or dates (Midnight
Saturday/Sunday or Midnight December 14/15), and (d) to use "12:01
a.m." or "11:59 p.m." This final usage is common in the travel
industry, especially train and plane schedules, to avoid confusion
as to passengers' schedules.
The 30th edition of the
U.S. Government Style Manual
(2008) sections 9.54 and 12.9b recommends the use of "12 a.m."
for midnight and "12 p.m." for noon.
Some religious calendars continue to begin the day at another time
— for example, at
dusk in the
Hebrew calendar and the
Islamic calendar.
Cultural meanings
In traditional magical thinking , "midnight" refers to solar
midnight, which is opposite solar
noon. These
form an axis linking the mundane world with
otherworlds by being the
apogee of darkness and the
perigee of light. Thus, traditional midnight is
associated with
chaos,
death,
underworld and
mystery. It was seen as a moment when
sacrum manifests itself and
epiphanies were most likely. The
epiphanies expected were those associated with darkness, so it was
thought that at midnight, visitation from
spirits,
ghosts,
demons and
devils were
common.
All the supernatural creatures of darkness — reminiscent of feared
nocturnal predators — were believed to haunt the night, their
potency greatest at its central point, midnight. According to
Slavic folklore, midnight was time when
strigas rose from graves to suck the blood of
mortals,
zmoras assailed the sleeping to steal
their breath, and devils came for sinners.
Polish
Jews believed that it was the time when dybbuks possessed people, causing
insanity.
As night's attributes are chaos and primordiality, all the acts of
summoning from
otherworlds were easiest
to perform at the culmination of the night.
Supernatural entities like demons and devils
universally answered a human call — be it death wish,
curse of
famine, prostration or
pact with the devil. All the acts of
sorcery,
witchcraft,
necromancy
were easiest then. While some beliefs stated that elaborate rituals
were needed, some other folklore ascribed unholy power to such
simple acts as calling the devil at
crossroads at midnight. Even peeking
into a mirror at night (without a reliable clock one could never be
certain what time it was) was dangerous, as the devil himself could
have looked back.
Midnight was also the time to gather the ingredients used in
magical acts done at other times,
so various herbs were thought to be most potent when harvested at
midnight.
In the modern world, midnight is the symbolic end of the world
according to the
Doomsday
Clock.
Notes
See also
References
- National Institute of Standards and Technology's
Physics Laboratory, Time and Frequency Division
- The 29th edition of the U.S. Government Printing Office
Style Manual (2000) section 12.9 recommended the opposite the
use of "12 p.m." for midnight and "12 a.m." (formerly "12 m.") for
noon.
- Leksykon Znaki Świata - Omen, przesąd, znaczenie by Piotr
Kowalski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1998 (in
Polish)
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Misc
Search
