Less than two weeks from the recent New York Naraya and one week from our observance of the full moon this year is the winter solstice.
The celebration of the return of the light, evident by longer days, is one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, of human ceremonial occasions. Astronomically, the winter solstice is when the sun is at its greatest distance south of the celestial equator and hence the daylight] is shortest. (Note that when the northern hemisphere is marking the winter solstice, the southern hemisphere is celebrating its summer solstice.) Paradoxically, even though the sun is “returning,” the months after the solstice are the coldest of the year as the effects of the diminished solar radiation continue to deepen due to the inertia of the surface of the earth.
Christmas, or Christ’s Mass, is a church co-optation of the old Roman solstice holiday of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birth of the Unconquered Sun), which, in the Julian calendar, fell on December 25th. (Christmas, by the way, has only been a big deal on the church calendar for the past several hundred years or so.) The Romans enjoyed the season as one of great merriment and role reversal, such as masters becoming “servants” and servants becoming “masters. ” The Saturnalia period preceding it was overtly carnal, mimicking in human form what was supposedly happening among the gods to rebirth the sun.
Many solstice-type traditions have persisted from pagan days: lights, gifts, jollity, drinking and eating (the livestock that would not survive the winter were slaughtered at this time, there was plenty of meat, hence the term carnival). We even still use some of the old pagan solstice terminology, such as Yule or Jul.
Solstice celebrations have many names, such as Soyal (Zuni, Hopi), Beiwe (Sámi of northern Finnoscandia), Deygän (Zoroastrian), and Lenæ or Brumalia, a Greco-Roman festival where the dying harvest/wine god, Dionysus (or Bacchus) was ripped to pieces and eaten by Maenads, the Wild Women, who then celebrated his rebirth (not to worry, it got tamer and more symbolic as time went on).
Inti Raymi was the Inca winter solstice Festival of the Sun, celebrated in what we now call late June, being the Southern Hemisphere. At Machu Picchu, intihuatana, large columns intended as “hitching posts of the sun” can still be seen.
In Ireland, it was customary for young men to dress in motley (many colors) for Wren Day, when they would catch wrens and go from house to house accompanied by musicians to spread cheer and give and receive presents. Such young men were called “wren boys.” [This phrase has become corrupted to connote quite another kind of cheer spreader.]
The ‘Rebirth of the Sun’ Moon teaches you to be as clear a receiver and transmitter of universal energy as the Crystal, as important a communicator of the ancient knowledge as the Birch Tree, and as respectful of tradition and ritual as the Snow Goose. This is a position with the potential for great power. The Long Night Moon (another name for this time) teaches you to be fluid, yet proper in conduct as well as clear, adaptable, prudent, and wise. People in this position have keen vision, are good ceremonialists, and can take large steps in their personal evolution. Snow Goose people need to guard against becoming blocked, against using their enormous power incorrectly, and against being so perfectionist they never have time for fun.
Have fun, dear ones. This is the time of the triumph of light over darkness, no matter how you slice it. ‘Tis the season to be jolly.
