The road home beckons as the frost laden trees bend to each other accross the way.
Tonight is a very special night. It is the winter solstice, an evening that has been celebrated for eons by people all over the planet. It is the basis for the Christmas celebrations, with most symbols now accepted as Christian, once being from the pagan customs. Many people believe pagan to mean witch craft and evil, but it is the opposite. The pagans revered the Earth as their mother and wished to protect her. They coveted nature and celebrated on this night, the return of the light after a dark time. It is the first day of winter and the last day of the long nights.
But this night, the 21st of December is a very special night. Some scholars say it is the longest night in thousands of years or possible in all of history, while others say it is only since 1912, when the longest night occurred then. However it is, one thing for sure, is that the night is long and from now on, the days will be lengthening and the nights becoming shorter. Here in the north, in the middle of summer, the days are very long with only a few hours of true night and even then it is not very dark,not dark like this winter's night.
This night, I will purify my home with sage, burning it and sending the pyres of smoke throughout the little hovel, asking the spirits who are not here in love, to leave. I will smudge the smoke over my spirit too and then light a candle and give thanks to our mother, whom I believe is a sentient being, just as we are, and has a soul or spirit. Then I will thank the Creator for the sage and the light and the end of the darkness, looking forward to a new year filled with the love and joy that comes with the light.
Happy Solstice my friends. Blessings to you in the light filled year to come.
But this night, the 21st of December is a very special night. Some scholars say it is the longest night in thousands of years or possible in all of history, while others say it is only since 1912, when the longest night occurred then. However it is, one thing for sure, is that the night is long and from now on, the days will be lengthening and the nights becoming shorter. Here in the north, in the middle of summer, the days are very long with only a few hours of true night and even then it is not very dark,not dark like this winter's night.
This night, I will purify my home with sage, burning it and sending the pyres of smoke throughout the little hovel, asking the spirits who are not here in love, to leave. I will smudge the smoke over my spirit too and then light a candle and give thanks to our mother, whom I believe is a sentient being, just as we are, and has a soul or spirit. Then I will thank the Creator for the sage and the light and the end of the darkness, looking forward to a new year filled with the love and joy that comes with the light.
Happy Solstice my friends. Blessings to you in the light filled year to come.
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