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This does seem strange, since periods of daylight start to lengthen after winter solstice on December 21. The reason is because the solstice and perihelion do not happen at the same moment. Perihelion is the point at when the earth is physically closest to the sun, and this happens several days after solstice. This means that the earth's orbital velocity is increasing for several days after solstice, and so the relatively constant rotation of the earth on its axis has to still 'catch up' with solar time. This is not easy to grasp, and it is not easy to visualize. Studying the Equation of Time will help clear this up. One major hurdle to understanding this is the common mis-understanding that solstice and perihelion are either the same thing, or that they happen at the same instant. They are not the same thing, and they do not happen together.

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