It's Almost Solstice!, only 11 more shopping days left Options

the evergreen promise-tree had been hunted and killed and dragged into the house and hung with the glittering wish-spells of the family members for the new year

the presents, like morel mushrooms, lay under the tree awaiting the solstice and the warm gifting reminiscent of sun and earth's exchange (and daughter moon!)

i've gathered my gifts for the trees (eggs, cookies, milk duds, even a whole candy bar or two for my really special friends) and some tobacco for the fairies, elves and trolls that live in the woods down the lane

the yule log is ready to be baked (bread log this year as we dont have a working fireplace boo hoo, but we'll throw the spices on it in turn as its baking)

the groceries for the feast are in the fridge and freezer, i've dried the special corn for popping (bought some made just in case this time - we learn through our mistakes), there's baskets of dried leaves and evergreen branches from where we cut the tree

i think we're ready for solstice!

yay!

This post has been edited by esoterica: Dec 5 2006, 07:53 AM

Greetings !

Good post Joseph. I think we must also add the astronomical reality of these festivals. They tend to divide the year in seasonal quarters and eighths and are an attempt to reconcile the cycles of of the sun and moon into a luni-solar calendar.

It is also interesting to note that the beginning of Christmas is Christmas Eve which corresponds to the end of solstice. For most cultures solstice was a several day event corresponding to the period when the sunrise and set positions did not appear to change hence “sol+stice" (derived from the latin “solar standstill”). If we observe the movement of the sun year-round (north-south cycle made by the solar arc) we notice that the sunsets/rises reach an extreme northern position during the December solstice and do not shift position for about 3 days. Usually this period runs from Dec21 to Dec 24, and thus Christmas Day (Dec. 25) does indeed represent the return of the light since it is the first day that the sun appears to visibly move back towards the northern half of the sky, bringing with it the period of longer days, shorter nights, and warmer months. The 12 days of Christmas to January 6 (the traditional day of the three Magi) corresponds to the period when an observer will see the first new moon of the year.

Similar astronomical realities can be found with almost all the major holidays. Easter for example it is always celebrated near the moon closest to equinox. In the end it is the patterns of the sky that govern our life on earth and thus cultures around the globe have turned these patterns into sacred events to celebrate the order of the cosmos. Thus, as traditions change (i.e pagan beliefs give way to Christian) the astronomical realities do not but instead are given different names to reflect the mythology of the new tradition .

This post has been edited by Faustopheles: Dec 5 2006, 04:58 PM