Wednesday marks Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. From here on the days slowly become longer as the darkness of winter turns to the lightness of spring. But Winter Solstice represents much more than long nights turning to long days. Solstice has been celebrated in various cultures around the world for thousands of years as a winter ritual. After the dark, cold melancholy of winter, a time of forced indoor residing, Solstice is a time to celebrate that the lightness will once again return to life as we know it. Take notice of all the many winter celebrations that involve light and candles: Hanukkah candles, Saint Lucia's Day lights, Christmas lights and many other ancient cultures' rituals, celebrated with lights and bonfires.
For several years I led Winter Solstice retreats, an opportunity to stop and reflect on the past year and to look forward to the new year and all the opportunity it holds. Winter Solstice is full of symbols of opposites -- black and white, light and dark, warm and cold, abundance and scarcity, life and death. Nature herself celebrates solstice as the leaves gather strength to blossom again, critters gather strength to come out of hibernation.
Sometimes our greatest joys follow deep sorrow and so it is with solstice -- it is a time to let go of the past and to embrace our bright and shiny futures.
This year instead of leading a retreat, I'll be attending a Winter Solstice celebration at the Sacramento Food Co-op. But I'll leave you with a few of the questions I've typically asked at my Solstice retreats, for your reflection.
1. What challenges did you face this year? What was the gift of each one? What are you incomplete with?
2. What successes did you celebrate this year? How do they make you feel today? What values do they reflect?
3. What have you learned about life that you would like to carry into the new year? What would you like to let go of?
Winter is a lesson about the fine art of loss and growth. The lesson is clear: there is only one way out of the struggle and that is by going into its darkness, waiting for the light, and being open to new growth. ~ Joan Chittister
Happy Solstice everyone! Here's to your limitless possibilities in the light of the new year!
Image courtesy of Stonehenge Winter Solstice
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