For other uses see Midnight (disambiguation).

Midnight is in most systems the transition time period from one day to the next: the moment when the date changes. In the Roman time system midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise 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 meridians and daylight saving time it rarely coincides with midnight on a clock. Solar midnight is dependent on longitude and time of the year rather than on a time zone.

In the northern hemisphere "midnight" had an ancient geographic association with "north" (as did "noon" with "south" -- see noon). Modern Polish and Ukrainian preserve this association with their words for "midnight" ("pnoc" "" -- literally "half-night") which also means "north". Contents 1 Start and end of day 2 Cultural meanings 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links 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. With 12-hour time notation most authorities recommend avoiding confusion by using "midnight" "12 midnight" or "12:00 midnight".1

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 changes to 12:00. Simultaneously the p.m. changes 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. A digital clock showing midnight.

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 the time 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.2

The thirtieth 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.34nb 1 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 thinkingwhere "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 the 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.5 Midnight New Year's Eve 1950 All the supernatural creatures of darkness reminiscent of feared nocturnal predators were believedby whom 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.5 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 beliefswhich stated that elaborate rituals were needed some other folklorewhich 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.5 Midnight was also the time to gather the ingredients used in magical acts done at other timeswhere so various herbs were thought to be most potent when harvested at midnight.5 In the modern world midnight is the symbolic end of the world according to the Doomsday Clock. See also 12-hour clock Noon New Year's Eve Notes 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. References NIST Time and Frequency miscellaneous FAQ National Institute of Standards and Technology's Physical Measurement Laboratory "U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual Chapter 9". 2008. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgidbname2008stylemanual&docidf:chapter9.wais. Retrieved 2009-06-11.  "U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual Chapter 12". 2008. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgidbname2008stylemanual&docidf:chapter12.wais. Retrieved 2009-06-11.  a b c d Leksykon Znaki wiata - Omen przesd znaczenie by Piotr Kowalski Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN 1998 (in Polish) External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Midnight Media related to Midnight at Wikimedia Commons National Institute of Standards and Technology v d eParts of a day DawnTwilightSunrise  Morning  Noon  Afternoon  Evening  SunsetTwilightDusk  Night  Midnight Related articles: Blue hour  Golden hour  Terminator  Daytime  Daylight  Midnight sun