Celebrating the Solstice
By lilybee
The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year, this year it's on the 21st of December. It's kind of a boon to those of
us who don't really do religious holidays at this time of year, as
folks have been eating, making wreaths and burning stuff (all my
favourite things!) to mark the solstice for pretty much ever... even
longer than Festivus has been celebrated.
You can, of course, observe Solstice simply by thinking quietly to yourself
'In your eye, rubbish darkness, bring on the longer days and the way more awesome part of the year'
If you were hoping for something a little more formal you could try:
- Building a wreath, gather your folks and a heap o' greenery (and maybe instructions from someplace like here ) and have at it. Yule or Jul, which are other names for solstice (and Christmas) actually means wheel, as in, the turning circle of the year.
- Feast! Hang out with your chums and family, eating and drinking then finish the night off with a cake or pie (or both, mmmmm) with an image of the sun on it. You could get fancy and add candles.
- Burning some stuff! Fire symbolises the sun and it's just well, nice. You could decorate a Yule log (a very dry oak log) by tying some paper ribbons on it and adding some holly, see, Oak represents the new (coming) solar year, and the Holly represents the old solar year. We don't have a fireplace so I just light a candle.
Good gifts for the solstice are candles (preferably beeswax ones) or something warm (handmade is good!), essential oils and an IOU for a massage or even some crystals might be appropriate too, but stuff really isn't the point.
Find a little more information on the subject here.
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