DEBORAH CROMBIE: For those of us in the northern hemisphere today, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice, the day when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the sun. (In the southern hemisphere, December 21st is the Summer Solstice.) It is the turning point of the winter, after which the days begin to get longer, and has been celebrated in every culture as far back as Neolithic times. (Stonehenge, check!)
Every religion, too, seems to have some version of a rebirth myth tied to the shortest days. Don't you wonder, though, how these prehistoric people began to calculate that incremental increase, just a few seconds a day? Was it instinctual, the way our dogs somehow know that it's Friday and we're going to get takeout, before I've done anything differently?? (Seriously, how do they do that? One of our now departed dogs knew when it was Christmas--she LOVED Christmas.) The birds certainly know the year is turning--they've begun to sing the last couple of days, as they always do this time of year.
Although we may not have to worry about starvation in the coming long winter days, as older cultures did, but I know many people who struggle with the shorter days and rejoice in the longer daylight, even in tiny fractions.
I'm not one of them. I've always liked the coziness of the early darkness. But then I live in a temperate climate and I'm not (at least most of the time) freezing or plowing through snowdrifts. Here in Texas, I cheer on the Summer Solstice because the days getting shorter means fewer hours of heat!
When I lived in Edinburgh I have to admit I felt differently about those winter days, however. Less than six hours of daylight when it is overcast, damp, and very cold requires some serious comfort, which I didn't have in our old, unheated flat.
Although I don't officially celebrate the Solstice, I always feel it deserves some quiet time, a pause for meditation. I'd love to put this photo in my journal and spend a few moments writing, taking stock of the year and the season.
Unfortunately, the Winter Solstice coincides with what is usually a very busy week leading up to Christmas and I seldom manage to make that time.
What about you, REDs and readers? Do you mark the Solstice? Are you happy to see the days getting longer?
