Published: December 11,2016
(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
November and December are jam-packed with back-to-back opportunities for celebrating, with the most concentrated cluster of merriment happening around the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice. The opposite of the summer solstice, the winter solstice is the longest night of the year, or the day of least light, after which the days begin to lengthen again. People in the northernmost latitudes may be lucky to see four hours of wan sunlight on this day, which typically falls on December 21.
History
Humans have been celebrating this turning of the year for ages, with many modern traditions having descended from much older roots. The Romans followed up their Saturnalia festivities with Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. Held on December 25th, this was the day on which the sun god, Sol Invictus, was reborn, heralding the return of longer days. Today, of course, this date is celebrated as Christmas, although historical record is unclear whether early Christians chose the date because of its coincidence with the Roman holiday, or despite it.
Ancient Persians celebrated šab-e yaldā, or šab-e čella, in which light triumphs over darkness as the sun god Mithra is reborn, a tradition still celebrated by modern Iranians as Yaldā Night. The Dōngzhì Festival, literally the “extreme of winter,” has been celebrated since the days of the Han Dynasty by Chinese and other East Asian cultures as the return of longer days and the associated positive yang energy. The indigenous Hopi of North America celebrate Soyal, a midwinter ceremony in which kachinas, or spirits, descend from the mountains to ritually wake the sun from its long winter slumber. And a number of modern holidaymaking traditions, such as Yule logs, caroling and possibly even Christmas trees, can be traced back to the Yuletide celebrations of indigenous Germanic peoples. Yule itself is still popularly celebrated today by many Pagans and Wiccans in ceremonies as diverse and varied as the covens and individuals themselves.
Merrymakers hoping to host their own winter solstice celebration can use the following easy tips to set the scene for a festive atmosphere.
Let there be light.
The nights have been lengthening ever since the autumnal equinox and reach their peak on the evening of the winter solstice. The return of the sun’s light is, therefore, an important theme in many traditions. Welcome the returning sun by lighting the way with candles, firelight and gently-glowing lanterns. Strings of electric fairy lights provide a variety of choices for color and design. If you have the space and the gumption to be outdoors, a bonfire is another great option.
Surround yourself with loved ones.
Perhaps even our ancestors understood the link between the shortening days and the feelings of isolation that we commonly associate with the winter blues, because togetherness is another big piece of solstice traditions. No one is an island when the seas are frozen over! So invite your loved ones, be they family, friends, neighbors or community members.
Eat!
Winter is the season following the bounty of autumn harvests, when fresh food may become scarce and hunger lurks on the edges of consciousness. Many traditions include ritual foods that are eaten to invoke a spirit of summer, as in the pomegranate seeds and watermelons eaten during Yaldā Night, or to symbolize some other desirable aspect, like the colorful tang yuan eaten during the Dōngzhì Festival that represent family unity. The menu for your gathering can be as rustic or symbolically complex as you like – there’s no wrong way to do it!
Holly Zynda is a copy editor, proofreader and writer with a lifelong passion for the written word. She owns and operates Owl Intermedia, a content production and editing company, and has provided writing and editing services for companies ranging from GoPro and Reputation.com to The California Environmental Protection Agency and Genentech.
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