Sophia's Children: Winter Solstice & The Season of Lights

Cultures around the world have, for millennia, celebrated 'the return of the Light' or the 'rebirth of the Sun' at the Winter Solstice, when the sun dips to its southernmost point in relation to the Earth, the day is short and the night is at its longest.

After six months of days growing shorter, we turn at the Winter Solstice in a march towards the Summer Solstice, with days growing longer once again.

Winter Solstice usually occurs on December 21st or 22nd, with the exact Solstice depending on your location on this beautiful Earth.

To me, Winter Solstice opens the 'Season of Returning-Light' that goes right through the Twelve Days of Christmas to Imbolc-Candlemas in early February.

Given that the return of the Light was a much-celebrated event, in times when humans had a deeper connection to and appreciation for the cycles and rituals and seasons of the Earth and cosmos, what were some of the rituals and practices they used to connect them with the meaning of the Season?

For some Northern European ancestors, the Solstice was Modranicht, or Mother's Night, when the female ancestors and Goddess were celebrated and guidance was sought.

Hannukah is the Jewish 'Festival of Lights' over eight days that mark the rededication of the temple in the 2nd century B.C.

During Hannukah, "We can magnify our blessings instead of exaggerating our troubles," said Rabbi March Schneier of the World Jewish Congress and The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

The Romans celebrated the Winter Solstice with Saturnalia, one of their grand annual festivals named for the God Saturn. The Roman celebration of Saturnalia became the Christmas celebration after Rome elected Christianity as its state religion, and various Christian elements were woven into the festivities.

I particularly resonate with Caroline Casey's perspective of Saturn's archetype encouraging us to 'be the authors of our own lives', reclaiming our author-ity, and establishing healthy boundaries where they might have been a bit squishy and power-draining.

Druids and pagans celebrated Alban Arthuran or Yule at the Winter Solstice, and these are amongst the most ancient celebrations, marked by the amazing stone structures such as Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England, amongst others throughout the world.

Steve Nelson, mythic astrologer, has a beautiful message about the Druid approach to Yule and this season: "At Winter Solstice the Druids celebrated their 'Festival of Liberation', a time when the soul is set free to dream a new world."

Across time and cultures, celebrations of Winter Solstice included special attention to the play of Light and Dark, sunrise, a feast and celebration, evergreens in abundance (including some to burn ritually, as in incense, sage sticks, pine), and exchanging small, meaningful gifts.

Rituals for the Season of Lights

There are many rituals and themes to these Season of Light celebrations -- some shared by many different cultures, and some unique. Here is a sampling:

Symbols, themes & rituals for end-of-year Season of Lights celebrations:

• Darkness, stillness, silence, womb (turn off the lights, go within, feel the richness and the potential fertility of it)
• Light (firelight, candles, little lamps, sunrise)
• Yule logs
• Rebirth, transformation
• Wisdom
• Fallow period, during which seeds of Spring gestated beneath the ground, Wisdom or Light emerges from the cosmic womb
• Symbolic burning of greens (pine, juniper, bay, sage)
• Myrrh, frankincense and gold - symbolic gifts brought by the Magi-Kings in honor and celebration of the birth of Christ

• Mistletoe (which grew on the sacred Oak trees whose groves often formed the natural 'church' or sacred grounds of ancient Celtic spiritual practitioners)

• Magnifying blessings (vs. stewing on or exaggerating troubles)
• Awe
• Connecting with Nature and seasonal cycles
• Small cakes, fruits and candies
• Symbolic gift exchange
• Sharing of food (banquet, feast, abundant meal)
• Writing/sharing/speaking intentions for embodying values & making manifest visions and ideals over the coming year
• Ceremonially releasing 'the old' -- that which now impedes 'evergreen' growth and the manifestation of your vision and highest ideals -- and embracing and planting the seeds that will grow in the coming year
• Interweaving spiritual or philosophical tenets and ideals into the celebration of the Natural wonder and gifts of Winter Solstice and the season