My wish for you and for myself is: May the coming year be filled with peace, contentment, and many good new books. May the light increase in your life, and mine.
Showing posts with label Winter solstice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter solstice. Show all posts
Monday, 22 December 2014
Book Advent Calendar Day 21: Happy Solstice to you
Happy Solstice to you, dear and gentle readers. It is now the turning of the year and the sun will stay gradually longer each day.
Winter is not all bad. It does give us an excuse time to be indoors and read by the fire. There is a quietness that settles on the earth and in the air up here in the northern hemisphere in our winter. A time to be still, to dream, and to wait. Creativity and growth and new life can only come after a time of darkness, and planting seeds. In my life, in the midst of this PTSD crisis I have been in for the past two months, there is a slow change in me, a settling down again of some of what was stirred up. The soul has it's own time. So I am learning how to sit still, and what being peaceful feels like. These are good things for me. It's good that it is winter now, I think. It matches what I need inside me. I am certainly more calmer than I was, though the anxiety is there, just under the surface.
My wish for you and for myself is: May the coming year be filled with peace, contentment, and many good new books. May the light increase in your life, and mine.
My wish for you and for myself is: May the coming year be filled with peace, contentment, and many good new books. May the light increase in your life, and mine.
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Book Advent Calendar Day 20: Dark night of the solstice, and some links
I have declared this a pyjamas day for us all here in my household. We are all in various degrees of this virus, with my husband and I having very bad sore throats today. I think the universe wants me to be silent and listen more. Which, as it's Dec 20, and the day before the solstice, is something I was hoping to do anyway. This year the solstice is extra special with the new moon occurring on the same day as the solstice. So this is like the dark of the year, and the dark of the moon, combined. Here is a link to a blog where Beth Owl talks about the significance of tonight.
Beth Owl is a tarot card reader and one of my favourite blogs to visit for insights in how to live more naturally with the seasons. This has been a long-time goal of mine. I've only recently come to realize that I want to hibernate during the winter season, including through some of the holiday season. This is the second year in a row that we are all sick at the beginning of the holidays, so it looks like we all need some time to be quiet when the holidays start. Do you notice something similar, or another kind of rhythm, when the holidays start for your family? Do you go to a lot of social activities - work, school for the children, friends? I used to do more. I love gatherings and potlucks and parties, open houses, though as I've gotten older I've realized that I am truly an introvert and gatherings tire me more quickly now. So it's about finding a balance between social activities and quiet time now. Have you discovered anything similar for you?
Celebrating the solstice
There is something refreshing about silence, and about thinking about the meaning of this season. It is the change from one year to the next, so one thing I like to do is think on what I learned this past year, what I'd like to leave behind, and what I'd like to let in and learn about in the next year.
Some fun links:
Scary Icelandic terrors for Christmas: **Shiver.** These would have been terrifying to hear about as a child! And I still have to buy two articles of clothing for two of the males in my family.
Crimson Peak: Oh my goodness, anything that features Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddlestone in a Gothic setting is going to be fun! This is something to look forward to next year when there are no more new Hobbit or LoTR movies to look forward to. Just look at this picture released by the movie company:
Lovely dark stuff.
Happy last night of the solar year to you.
Beth Owl is a tarot card reader and one of my favourite blogs to visit for insights in how to live more naturally with the seasons. This has been a long-time goal of mine. I've only recently come to realize that I want to hibernate during the winter season, including through some of the holiday season. This is the second year in a row that we are all sick at the beginning of the holidays, so it looks like we all need some time to be quiet when the holidays start. Do you notice something similar, or another kind of rhythm, when the holidays start for your family? Do you go to a lot of social activities - work, school for the children, friends? I used to do more. I love gatherings and potlucks and parties, open houses, though as I've gotten older I've realized that I am truly an introvert and gatherings tire me more quickly now. So it's about finding a balance between social activities and quiet time now. Have you discovered anything similar for you?
Celebrating the solstice
There is something refreshing about silence, and about thinking about the meaning of this season. It is the change from one year to the next, so one thing I like to do is think on what I learned this past year, what I'd like to leave behind, and what I'd like to let in and learn about in the next year.
Some fun links:
Scary Icelandic terrors for Christmas: **Shiver.** These would have been terrifying to hear about as a child! And I still have to buy two articles of clothing for two of the males in my family.
Crimson Peak: Oh my goodness, anything that features Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddlestone in a Gothic setting is going to be fun! This is something to look forward to next year when there are no more new Hobbit or LoTR movies to look forward to. Just look at this picture released by the movie company:
Lovely dark stuff.
Happy last night of the solar year to you.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Day 21 - Virtual Advent Tour - Happy Solstice Day!
The Winter Solstice - Light and Dark
It's my turn to post during this lovely virtual advent tour, and I was going to do a post about the meaning of the winter solstice, and some of it's history, but I see that Mariel at Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops already posted about it today! She did a fantastic job, and I've linked you to her post. She has beautiful winter scenes with sun light and sunset posted. But do not fear, I had two or three ideas I was tossing around up until I saw her post, so, I'm moving on to the theme that I love most about the winter Solstice - the darkest day of the year, and the coming of the light.
I know that from a very early age I was aware of nature - of the trees expecially, and the mountains and the sea also, when we lived in British Columbia. We were raised as Catholics, although quite early in my life my mother stopped going (she married a man with a different faith) and so I became free to explore other religions as I became older. I wasn't consciously doing this; I joined a Christian bible study group when I was twelve, with my best friend, and for a year I studied the bible with them. Even at that young age (as I know now it is) it didn't satisfy any questions I had, and I knew that while the Bible held answers for other people, it didn't hold many for me. I no longer celebrate the religious aspects of Christmas, yet I still celebrate this time of year. I don't know when I first heard about the changing of the seasons, and the shortest days and longest days of the year. It has taken me many years to understand what I celebrate exactly - and it's the simple astronomical fact that today is the shortest day of the year, and the longest night. I celebrate the coming back of the light.
So this is our tree this year:
I tried to get a photo of the tree lit up in the dark, but this was the best we could get from our camera last night. What I love best are the lights on the tree. We have our favourite decorations on of course, ones that have to be on the tree every year.
Sometimes the garland is on, sometimes it isn't. This year we have two colours of garland!
What remains the same is the tree. For us here in Canada, of course, we have pine tree forests all over the country. So it's like bringing in a bit of the forest to celebrate nature at this time of year. And the evergreen is the tree that stays green in the northern hemispheres, year round. Our tree lit up is, for me, a symbol that day will come again, that the light will come back, the sun will return a little bit longer every day, and life will continue. It's a little symbol of eternity brought into our house. And it's some light against the long dark night. I love lights on our Christmas tree! I love looking at the outside decorations at night all along our streets, and going to my friends' houses to see how they have decorated and especially, when they turn the lights on. There is just something about light at this time of year that I really respond to.
(By the way, I do admit that this is a small tree, bought by my English husband who thought it was a wonderful size. I said maybe in England it is, but over here this is small and piddly. After everyone exclaimed over it's size two years ago, he has now promised me a larger tree for next year. He admits that perhaps the star on top could be a little closer to the ceiling. It currently sits two feet below it!!)
Today, being the winter solstice, I will be thinking about light, and how we need it to live, how the planet needs it to support all life. What a wonder it is that we have the sun, and that we have the changing of the seasons, so that we see life unfold before our eyes every day. For me, this is the end of the year, the last day of the old year's light. Tomorrow will dawn a new day, and a new year, for the sun will come back just a little bit more tomorrow. So this is the last day of this year in terms of the sun's light. Once I realized that, I understood that this is what I celebrate instinctively. When we open all our presents on Christmas Day, I see it as celebrating the new year. By then, we know the sun is coming back to us. This time of year is a big long festival of lights and presents to welcome the sun, and the new year. I like the idea that giving gifts - and receiving them - encourages abundance all through the year!
I also know that for you, My Gentle Readers who are in the Southern Hemisphere, that this is the day with the longest sun's light, for you! Isn't this part of the mystery and magic that is the universe all around us? Part of the fun and wonder of this advent tour is seeing how this time of year is celebrated in all its myriad ways around the world, in our lives and in our homes. May you feel the magic and wonder of this time in your lives. Happy Holidays! Happy Solstice Day to you!
Sometimes the garland is on, sometimes it isn't. This year we have two colours of garland!What remains the same is the tree. For us here in Canada, of course, we have pine tree forests all over the country. So it's like bringing in a bit of the forest to celebrate nature at this time of year. And the evergreen is the tree that stays green in the northern hemispheres, year round. Our tree lit up is, for me, a symbol that day will come again, that the light will come back, the sun will return a little bit longer every day, and life will continue. It's a little symbol of eternity brought into our house. And it's some light against the long dark night. I love lights on our Christmas tree! I love looking at the outside decorations at night all along our streets, and going to my friends' houses to see how they have decorated and especially, when they turn the lights on. There is just something about light at this time of year that I really respond to.
(By the way, I do admit that this is a small tree, bought by my English husband who thought it was a wonderful size. I said maybe in England it is, but over here this is small and piddly. After everyone exclaimed over it's size two years ago, he has now promised me a larger tree for next year. He admits that perhaps the star on top could be a little closer to the ceiling. It currently sits two feet below it!!)
Today, being the winter solstice, I will be thinking about light, and how we need it to live, how the planet needs it to support all life. What a wonder it is that we have the sun, and that we have the changing of the seasons, so that we see life unfold before our eyes every day. For me, this is the end of the year, the last day of the old year's light. Tomorrow will dawn a new day, and a new year, for the sun will come back just a little bit more tomorrow. So this is the last day of this year in terms of the sun's light. Once I realized that, I understood that this is what I celebrate instinctively. When we open all our presents on Christmas Day, I see it as celebrating the new year. By then, we know the sun is coming back to us. This time of year is a big long festival of lights and presents to welcome the sun, and the new year. I like the idea that giving gifts - and receiving them - encourages abundance all through the year!
I also know that for you, My Gentle Readers who are in the Southern Hemisphere, that this is the day with the longest sun's light, for you! Isn't this part of the mystery and magic that is the universe all around us? Part of the fun and wonder of this advent tour is seeing how this time of year is celebrated in all its myriad ways around the world, in our lives and in our homes. May you feel the magic and wonder of this time in your lives. Happy Holidays! Happy Solstice Day to you!
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