I tried to wrap my head around Solstice long ago and I keep coming back to it as I look at all the various world holidays this month pushing us forward. Winter solstice, is the longest night of the year, and the shortest day, and yet the most hopeful time! This time is seen as the return to the fertile time, lengthening days, Spring coming up, and the sun making it's return journey to the earth. This is the life reboot, and it happens in the stillness of winter!
The Dongzhi Festival is celebrated by many Chinese and East Asian (though I found not mention of Japan including this celebration) cultures. It is a time for reunion with family, past and present, to share the year and prepare for the one to come. They even have traditional foods like tangyuan, so it reminds me a little of Thanksgiving but it is much more symbolic than that. Some believe you are a year older after this mark in the year, and I have found that my birthday is a much less reliable marker of my age than the close of the year...I like this idea!
Unlike Christmas which is a relocated holiday, thank you Emperors Constantine and Aurelian, and the various solstice holidays Hanukkah is neither. The Jewish calendar stands as a kind of bridge between Julian and Celestial. The festival of lights is an observance of a miracle, a re-dedication of the temple that needed a holy light to burn longer than expected. The Jewish celebration is to demonstrate the light of faith to the outside world not necessarily for the faithful within, it is a proclamation of miracles and struggles...very proactive, and forward looking, good things for a new year.
As a kid, like so many others I had an American Girl Doll, and even though Kirsten is now discontinued, my favorite story was her Christmas story. She was a daughter of Swedish immigrants on the frontier, and she got to be St. Lucia for her family. The following is and excerpt from the book "Kirsten's Surprise":
"In Sweden, Saint Lucia's Day begins the Christmas season," Kirsten explained. "It's the darkest day of the whole year. It's so dark that there's only daylight for a few hours. But no one minds the dark,because Saint Lucia's Day is such fun."
Lisbeth was braiding a straw belt for her doll. "What do you do?"
"In each family, one girl gets to be the Lucia queen. She dresses up in a long white dress and a red sash, and she wears a crown of green leaves and lighted candles. She gets up very, very early in the morning, while it's still pitch black and everyone is asleep. She lights the candles in her crown and she goes from room to room in the dark house, carrying a tray."
Now this is from a children's book so it's a little simplistic, but the general idea is there...the offering of hospitality, honoring a saint (the red sash symbolic of martyrdom), and the candles and evergreens present in so many of these traditions of life through the winter!
Now, the holidays for me are always a little nutso, I haven't even decorated the tree yet. But my Advent wreath is up, the candles have been burning, and I am focused on the newness of the upcoming year, the promises of my faith, and the blessings of my family and friends. Christmas Eve is tomorrow and the beautiful thing is - once I get there, Christmas to New Years is the most calming and cleansing time of my whole year! I have family time, time with friends, and all of it fills me with energy and peace to carry into this baby of a new year.
So if I can give all of you out there one little nugget of anything, it's this...No matter how stressful no matter how despondent no matter how frustrated the holidays make you...Look around for your candles. The people that recharge you, the things that make you joyful, and the events that clear your mind.
...Nature Girl
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