Time Limits for Reporting Social Security Earnings. There's a time limit for reporting Social Security earnings and getting credits towards future Social Security benefits. The time period is 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days following the end of the calendar year in which you earn the income.
Earliest Sunset a Few Days Before. If you look at the sunrise and sunset times for any city in the Northern Hemisphere around the December Solstice, you will notice that the earliest sunset occurs a few days before the solstice and the latest sunrise happens a few days after the solstice.
Evening is between sunset and late (10 p.m. or midnight). Night is anywhere from sunset to sunrise (plus or minus 30 minutes). Morning begins at midnight, but dawn doesn't start until almost sunrise. Edit: It's been pointed out that sunset isn't necessarily the hard time for the start of the evening, rather that dusk (or twilight) could be the beginning.