Winter SolsticeThe elemental threads woven into the tapestry of lore we call the Winter Solstice are light, hope, and charity. In the midst of the winter darkness, let us beseech the light to return to us with its warmth and fertility, let us hold out hope for a healthy and prosperous life, and let us share with others those blessings that have been so graciously given to us through kindness and the thoughtful acts of charity. Dancing through five thousand years of human history, these themes encapsulate this season in a rich and layered collage of celebration, folklore and tradition. The mythological story of creation recorded in the Pentateuch of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures begins that image of light: When the Spirit of Life began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and there was darkness over the abyss, and the Spirit hovered over the water, like a bird suspended in the air above its young in the nest. The Spirit said, "Let there be Light," and there was Light. The Spirit saw that the Light was good and separated the Light from the water. darkness. The Light was called "Day" and the darkness was called "Night". And it was evening and it was morning on the first Day. (From the Jerusalem Bible with some adaptations) Mythology gives us a "lively understanding of how the Day was created, leading to the lunations, the seasons, the changing of the seasons, and the solstices. Our myths are, in part, based on the facts and in this age of reason, a scientific explanation of the Winter Solstice is often more adequate to our liking. Understanding this explanation means reminding ourselves that in this age of abundant energy, heating sources and electric light we are also dependent and we have no control over these natural courses of the Earth and... middle of paper. ...... In addition to the lavish celebrations of the Winter Solstice, the Church, about sixteen hundred years ago, began to create a sacred day of the birth of Christ and attempted to shift the focus of celebrations from the sun in the heavens to the Son of God. The Winter Solstice overlapped with Christmas and, along the way, we lost some of the deep connections of our celebrations with the event hemispheric seasonal. Many people today are trying to regain connection; and perhaps, the impulse to maintain certain traditions; like candles, evergreens, celebration and generosity; they are echoes of a past that extends back many thousands of years. With great respect for all spiritual paths and ethnic origins; May your Winter Solstice holiday celebrations draw deeply from the abundant joy, fiery hopes, and enduring traditions of all our ancestors.