...That’s the way I like to think about these commercial holidays.
I’ll leave all the ‘green’ preaching to the mass media encouraging us to buy our way to a more green + sustainable Christmas. What’ I’d like to talk about here is what I celebrate at this time of year. And each year the pull gets stronger. It’s the ancient basis behind this time of year. The winter Solstice. It was once (in B.C. years) the predominant turn of the seasons, the earth’s physical renewal, the turning of darkness into light that marked the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one.
I’ll leave all the ‘green’ preaching to the mass media encouraging us to buy our way to a more green + sustainable Christmas. What’ I’d like to talk about here is what I celebrate at this time of year. And each year the pull gets stronger. It’s the ancient basis behind this time of year. The winter Solstice. It was once (in B.C. years) the predominant turn of the seasons, the earth’s physical renewal, the turning of darkness into light that marked the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one.
Living in an uber-eco-solar home, I am aware of the 2+ minutes of sunlight loss each day between June 21 and Dec 21; and the 2+ minutes of increasing sunlight between winter and summer solstice. With WinSol3’s large windows and overhands, I am constantly aware of the sun’s angles and shadows around me. One doesn’t have to be an architect to appreciate the dramatic differences in solar angles between the seasons.
The ancients practiced the winter solstice in BIG style. From Greek mythology - when the gods met on summer + winter solstices - to Stonehenge which is perfectly aligned with the solar angles of sunrise and sunset on winter solstice – the ancients knew it was essential to the survival. Back then most of the work between summer and winter solstice was done in preparation to survive the cold winters following December 21st.
It seems we do something similar – we save our money all year so we can spend it all during the Christmas shopping days. We’ve come a long way baby! Instead of storing food and drink for surviving, we now store capital so we can consume.
I wonder about everyone in the Southern hemisphere – their winter solstice occurs on our June 21st. Yet there’s no summer Christmas there. I wonder how the ancients south of the Equator (Africa , etc) celebrated our northern summer solstice?
This year’s winter solstice is even more special – there’s a full moon lunar eclipse happening at the same time, along with a large meteor shower. Unfortunately for most of northern California
Even more sad is that I won't be having my annual bonfire and reveling in the enjoying the first sun rays at exactly 7:43AM on Dec 22. I always have a very, very deep spiritual connection at that moment in time.
It feels reassuring to know that the earth and sun are still properly aligned through first hand experience:-)
Even more sad is that I won't be having my annual bonfire and reveling in the enjoying the first sun rays at exactly 7:43AM on Dec 22. I always have a very, very deep spiritual connection at that moment in time.
It feels reassuring to know that the earth and sun are still properly aligned through first hand experience:-)
