Solstice is coming! Solstice is coming! December 21st heralds the longest night and therefore a return of the sun. It is a winter Pagan holiday that celebrates the return of the light after the darkness of winter.
I have never quite wrapped my head around the fact that it gets colder here after the solstice, but that's me.
My extended family is almost all Christian, and I was raised that way, so Xmas is still the holiday that is for gift giving and gathering together as family. However, Solstice has started to become a time for friends. It is a time to honor the returning light and gather together to celebrate that the light will return.
This year I plan on celebrating the Heliogenna festival for the Solstice. However, since it is on a Tuesday and I work full time during the day, I will have to modify a few things. For instance, I cannot greet the new sun with singing and breakfast because I will be on my rideshare van on my way to work when the sun rises. And I am on my way home when the sun sets.
I feel like a kid on xmas morning anymore about the solstice. Why? I'm not sure. It could be a return of the light. It could be because I love giving gifts the way I used to love getting them as a kid. Maybe it is just the return of the light. We don't loose the light as much as those north of us do, but the sun rises around 8 am and sets around 430 pm here. That means that it is dark when I go to work and dark when I get home. And I don't have any windows in my cube. The closest I get is the door outside next to me but I have to get up and go look out it. So by the time Solstice comes around, I am ready for the joy that means more sunlight.
What are you looking forward to this holiday season?
http://sites.google.com/site/hellenionstemenos/festivals/heliogenna-festival
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