silent night...

On Saturday I'll celebrate the Winter Solstice with a group of very close friends. After a year of waiting, the mead we added our magic to last Yule will be unveiled! A great time will be had by all, no doubt.

But... (and you knew there had to be a but, didn't you?) at this time of year, as I have for the last 20, I find myself missing the quiet that is the hush of freshly fallen snow and the cold crisp air that is a northern winter. There was something special about celebrating the return of the light then. 

Some of my favorite winter memories are stringing lights on the evergreens that were in front of the house with my dad (and with that, Dad, I still miss you but know you're out there, somewhere)... building snowpeople... building snow forts... cross-country skiing when I got older. There was a peacefulness, a calm. 

As I've said said many times, nature is my temple. I feel best when outdoors -- in my tiny butterfly garden, in a park, in the Everglades. I miss peace and quiet, with the only sounds those of nature. Right now I'd be really glad for a few hours in a snowy wood, watching cardinals, bluejays and other woodland creatures carry on their day. 

Tis the season...

... for the annual "who does the holiday belong to" hubbub to begin. 

Down the road, in white and gold lights, Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale proclaims "Jesus is the Reason for the Season!" Somewhere, Bill O'Reilly is pitching a fit at those who would rather call the events happening in December the "holidays". 

While Christ does rightfully belong in the word Christmas, is Christmas, and the birth of Christ, really the reason for the season?

More than enough evidence has been presented to indicate Jesus was not born somewhere even remotely near December 25th, in fact the celebration of his natal day was moved to that time period during the 4th century CE, when Christianity was made the official religion of Rome. It is generally presumed Jesus was born in the spring. 

Even earlier, the Egyptians celebrated the god Osiris, who died and was reborn, the time of the Winter Solstice. The Greeks celebrated the "Festival of Wild Women" around Dionysus, who was murdered and reborn during the same period of time. In Rome the Saturnalia was celebrated. 

The Winter Solstice, or return of the sun, began pre-religion, as early man observed the cycles of the sun. It is said that aboriginal people were able to notice a slight elevation in the sun's path within days of that time when the sun sunk to its lowest point on the horizon, and it is believed people soon began to celebrate the sun's return, or rebirth, around the solstice, as they knew that soon the warmth would return and they would be able to cultivate crops. 

On December 21st, or thereabouts, I'll be celebrating the return of the sun, in my mind the real reason for the season.