Winter Solstice -- the return of the sun
... when days grow one hen step longer each day
Winter solstice at Newgrange, Ireland
Winter begins in earnest this week. Ever since summer solstice, the days have become shorter bit by bit until here in Portland, Oregon we are down to less than nine hours of daylight. The chickens don't get up until 8 a.m. and go to bed at 4 p.m.
I'm almost always up long before dawn, and long after the sun goes down. I spend a lot of time working in the dark, or by lamplight. Because of the holidays, the days seem to fly by; there's always something to do.
When I think of winter, I envision long dark evenings, warm cozy clothes, a house filled with lamplight. I imagine myself reading and sipping hot chocolate. In reality, I pretty much do what I always do. I'm on the computer for hours a day, writing and being on social media. I do my daily chores, sometimes sew, or bake, or go out. I read at night as per usual. I enjoy being up for sunrise, and love it when I actually get to see the sun instead of cloud cover.
I lived in Anchorage, Alaska from January 1969 to mid-June 1972. There the long days or long nights are extreme. For the long night season, everyone makes extra effort to socialize. I belonged to a social sorority. We had social events at least once a month, and other events throughout the month. I learned to ski at night in Alaska. Kids played in the icy streets at night, sledding, ice skating, and more. My daughter learned to ice skate when she was two years old in the street in front of our house. I did too. I had only roller skated before then. I should mention there was no traffic on these streets at night. I don't remember why. Maybe we blocked them off?
Alaska Ice Skating Rink
Since we moved back to Portland two years ago, I've spent more time outdoors than I had in years. Mostly right here at home. Hanging out with the chickens, sitting in my hammock chair, or gardening. Saturday was a good day for hanging about outdoors. It wasn't warm, but it also wasn't windy, and the sun was out. Winter brings a lot of wind from the East here. So I, for one, am always happy when it dies down.
My daughter and I lived in Kansas City, Missouri from 1975 to 1980 when we moved to Portland. The winter of 1976 the Unitarian Church, where I taught church school, asked me to create a winter solstice ritual for the church. It was my first time taking winter solstice seriously as a celebration, and I learned a lot by taking on this delightful task.
Human beings around the world have celebrated the return of the light for thousands of years. People built megalithic structures like Stonehenge in order to capture to moment. There is the Karahan Tepe in Turkey, only discovered two years ago, but more than 11,000 years old. Gavrinis in Brittany, France has a beautifully decorated tomb which aligns to sunrise on winter solstice. There are temples in Malta and Newgrange in Ireland. Stonehenge in the UK, and the fabulous Karnak temple in Luxor, Egypt (the only one I've visited in person). At Fajada Butte at Chaco Canyon in Arizona, a small petroglyph of a spiral or labyrinth records a blade of light entering from a thin gap between three large leaning rocks, marking both the winter and the summer solstices.
Photo by Kévin et Laurianne Langlais on Unsplash
There are more. If you're interested, you can search the internet and perhaps find one near where you live. Although I visited the Karnak Temple, I wasn't there for winter solstice. I missed it by about six weeks. And while I've been to Ireland four times, and have seen ancient rock fences, and stone circles, I didn't visit Newgrange. Maybe next time, if I'm lucky enough to go there again.
One can have a simple celebration of the winter solstice, even on own's own. Light candles, have a warm drink, be grateful for this important astrological change. Take time out from the hustle bustle of other winter holidays. For me it's a time to appreciate nature, the turning of Earth, a time to take a beat before planning for spring.
How will you celebrate Winter Solstice this week? (Thursday December 21, 2023 at 7:27pm PST)
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