Winter Solstice This Year:
Winter Solstice for 2005 will occur at 10:35 am PST on December 21st. That's today for our friends who lose track of time. ;o)
According to some pagan/druid traditions, Winter Solstice celebrates the return of Cernunnos - the God of All. While the Earth Mother is asleep, The Green Man returns in glory as the "Dark One" - the horned one - who rules over the Land. But more so, he represents masking and unmasking as the Father, Son, and Wild Spirit.
We found CANDLEGROVE this morning - a very nice website with dedications to the history and origins of Winter Solstice from a less Druidic perspective.
We're told:
"Solstice means...standing-still-sun"
Such precision we have about it now! Winter solstice is when......because of the earth's tilt, your hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun, and therefore:
The daylight is the shortest.
The sun has its lowest arc in the sky."
Candlegrove then presents a "linguistic" puzzle:
"The rebirth of the sun.The birth of the Son."
"Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some 1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language emerged from its Germanic roots. Is that why we came to express these two ideas in words that sound so similar?"
I think that the good folks of Candlegrove may have answered their own question right here:
"Winter solstice was overlaid with Christmas, and the observance of Christmas spread throughout the globe. Along the way, we lost some of the deep connection of our celebrations to a fundamental seasonal, hemispheric event. Many people--of many beliefs--are looking to regain that connection now."
In other words, people seek to regain their lost connections to the Spirit, to God, to our very origins. The Candlegrove writers also inform us that just about every culture in the World nods in some fashion to the Solstice. And isn't an "old" expression that tells us 'in order to find our Way to the Father, we must find our Way through the Son/Sun?'
In North America, one of the most famous sites is the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people. Even cultures that followed a moon-based calendar seemed also to understand the importance of these sun-facing seasonal turning points.
And you were wondering about those wild and crazy Romans and all their Saturnalia festivities, weren't you?
The Egyptian and Persian traditions merged in ancient Rome, in a festival to the ancient god of seed-time, Saturn. [some of us know this "old guy" as "Chronos" ... Father Time] The people gave themselves up to wild joy. They feasted, they gave gifts, they decorated their homes with greenery.
The usual order of the year was suspended: grudges and quarrels forgotten; wars interrupted or postponed. Businesses, courts, schools closed. Rich and poor were equal, slaves were served by masters, children headed the family. Cross-dressing and masquerades, merriment of all kinds prevailed. A mock king -- the Lord of Misrule -- was crowned. Candles and lamps chased away the spirits of darkness. As Roman culture became more licentious, so did Saturnalia. You can well imagine..."
There is also a wonderful tie in here to The Jewish Festival of Lights -- Hanukkah.
And what about those 12 Days of Christmas? Candlegrovers ask:
And are you wondering about the concept of the 12 Days of Christmas? The midwinter festival of the ancient Egyptians celebrated the birth of Horus (the prototype of the earthly king) son of Isis (the divine mother-goddess). It was 12 days long, reflecting their 12-month calendar. This concept took firm root in many other cultures. In 567 AD, Christians adopted it. Church leaders proclaimed the 12 days from December 25 to Epiphany as a sacred, festive season.
Whatever you celebrate and however you want to look upon this Day --- as an Honored and Sacred Earth Time or just another day in the gristmill --- we hope you feel warm and held by the Spirits of Peace and Love. One of our traditions on this day is to make a special treat for the birds and feed them. The children have come to love this connection with Nature and their own Spirits.
Wishing you and yours Peace, Love, and Warmth on this Day of the Sun,
Annie and Children
click the robins for a pretty song
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