Views: 30
They say that the January sky is among the clearest of the year. The moon can also be easily seen during the day. “Blanqueja com s’ametler, com ve que n’està florit, que blanqueja dia i nit, com sa lluna de gener” [It whitens like the almond tree, as if it were in bloom, whitening day and night, like the January moon] – says the popular rhyme.
In reality, the moon is always there above us, large enough to reflect the light of the star, but clouds, dust or other elements interfere and make it harder to see once the sun has risen.
As far as we know, humanity has been mistaken for most of its history in terms of astronomy. It was not until 1992 – the year of the Barcelona Olympic Games – that John Paul II declared Galileo innocent, almost 400 years after he had been labelled a heretic for defending that it was the Earth that revolved around the Sun and not the other way around.
Humans are very good at creating theories that later turn out to have little foundation. In North America, people fought for freedom and independence while using slaves and conquering land from others. In the French Revolution, equality did not apply to women. The current economy grows a lot, but distributes very poorly…
With the new year, every day, we will add approximately one more minute of light. We have already passed the darkest day, when ancient peoples realised that the sun stopped shifting its position on the horizon at sunset. That is the solstice, the static sun. From now on, it will begin to move in the opposite direction.
It is a time when birds gather together to sleep in trees. They seek the refuge of the group until the signals of seasonal change arrive and the urge to build nests and start families is activated. This will be more or less when day and night are of equal length. The equinox, the equality of night.
It will also be when the island’s main economic activity becomes active. The year we leave behind has once again surpassed the number of tourists. But the number of homeless people has also increased, as well as those who, despite having an income, cannot make it to the end of the month.
In natural ecosystems, every organism is part of a whole. It is not so clear that certain business initiatives contribute to improving Menorca’s social ecosystem. Let us see if in 2026 we learn to distinguish those economic activities that help us from those that drain us. Putting everything in the same basket is clearly not a good idea.
In the coming months, important matters for the island will be at stake. We will see whether the announced limitation of tourist vehicles is implemented, one of the few tools that could help curb the surge of people in July and August, as we have seen in Ibiza.
We will also learn the final content of the proposed modification of the Island Territorial Plan. It does not bode well that manoeuvres are being made so that it is assessed by technicians from the Island Council of Mallorca.
In the countryside, progress will be made in implementing methods that seek to regenerate soil fertility naturally, recover biodiversity and create interesting local economic networks, which do help people.
May the January moon give us strength, hope, creativity and collective initiatives. Menorca deserves it.
(This text is an adaptation of the original article published by Miquel Camps, as coordinator of territorial policy for the GOB, in the Menorca newspaper on 05/01/2026).