Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice- also called Yule. While it has since been co opted by Christianity and the Christmas season, the heart of the Solstice still rules, I think. It is the shortest day, the longest night, of the calendar year. Who cares, right? And why on earth would we celebrate the longest time of darkness? Most people find this time stressing, depressing, dark enough as it is, and with the holiday flusters, busy.
Well... let me enlighten you. We celebrate (and yes, by we I mean the witches, all of us gloriously dualistic gods and goddesses of the natural world) the longest night because the next day will be a little longer. And the day after that, and the day after that. The hours of light will lengthen and slowly the world will circle itself into spring. There will be growth and warmth. We celebrate the dark to honor its passing into the light. To look forward to times of fertility and community.
I wish I could explain it a bit better... We celebrate Yule in order to celebrate the difficulties in our lives (as counter-intuitive as that sounds)- because we have, or we can, or we will (hopefully) push through them- and to celebrate them with our loved ones. Afterall, who knows better than those surrounding us the path on which our hardships have taken us? Who, indeed? And who better than to hold our hands and smile into that long night than those who truly understand the meaning of a smile on the darkest, and longest night?
And there lies the heart of Winter Solstice- the heart that beats regardless of how much organization and rigid religiosity is constantly pumped into it. Day follows night- even the longest night of the year, light follows dark, good times balance the bad and we move on.
We gather. With those we love. And we move forward, we move on. With those we love.
Have a lovely Solstice, Friends. Enjoy the longest night- and remember that it will eventually be over.
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