Today, Monday 21st, December is known as Winter Solstice Day 

In many traditions, Winter Solstice, also known as Midwinter and/or the Festival of Yule, is a time for rituals and mystical celebrations in anticipation of the sun’s return. In a sense, this was a turning point in the battle of dark versus light in the world.

As the shortest day of the year, we will only have nine hours and 15 minutes of daylight and so today will be spent mostly in darkness.  The sunrise is at 08:38 and the sunsets at 16:08. 

10 things to do to celebrate Winter Solstice Day! 

1. Watch the sunrise at 8:38am – There’s no excuses for people who like their lie-ins as it’ll be a very late sunrise.  Even better go for a sunrise sea swim.
2. Watch the live-streamed Winter Solstice at the Neolithic Passage Tomb. The event will be live-streamed from within the Chamber on December 21 and 22 by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
3. Spend the night by candlelight
4. Craft orange pomanders for the Yule Tree.  For ideas, check out Pinterest
5. Enjoy a Yule log. Yule logs are named after the Yule celebration of the solstice. A Yule Log is a special log that is burned on the night of the winter solstice. It is a ritual performed to help re-ignite the Sun. The fire is kept burning all night as a symbol of light on the darkest night of the year.
6. Reflect, release and transform darkness into light. Write down everything that you would like to release and let go of, onto a piece of paper. Write down every hurt, every perceived injustice, all judgments against self or other, no matter how big or small it may seem. Let it all go.  Once you are finished, burn the paper and, allow the flames to transform darkness into light. 
7. Set your intentions. Once you release and let go of the darkness that is no longer serving you, write down your intentions. An intention is a thing, idea, habit, etc., that you would like to implement into your daily life. 
8. Practice Yoga and/or meditate. The day that the Winter Solstice happens is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Spend time meditating and practicing yoga to bring light to the darkest day of the year!
9. Go outside and connect with Nature. You can start by searching for signs of winter on a hike with the family.

10.  Make sun and star crafts and ornaments for the Christmas tree with the kids. Again some great ideas on Pinterest. 

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stop like the sun and celebrate with hope in your heart as we now know that summer is on its way and hopefully we can put 2020 behind us and welcome the year 2021 with new hope and optimism that all will be okay in the world. 

Photo by the very talented Gordon Leonard

Namaste 

Christine X