As a city dweller that is disconnected with the weather, the farms and nature…. it is quite easily that I have those festivals that were once upon a time so important for survival forgotten… And I just did. I skipped the Winter Solstice. The longest night reminds people that winter is here and the Earth(the northern hemisphere) will become frigid and cold in the coming two months. To compensate for my absentmindedness,  i am pulling out an old article from my files about this solar marker and  the community spirits that it once induced and including it back in this blog, just to remind myself how forgetful and fragmented this world I live in has become….

The article was published in Making Waves, WICC, winter, 2007

Doing the Winter ….The East Asian Way of Spending the Longest Night

The Winter Solstice, or the longest night of the year, has had immense importance in many northern cultures from antiquity. This event marks the beginning of the sun’s next cycle. Although the coldest days are yet to come, this day also promises that the frigid land will soon be warmed by the sun’s returning rays. Continue reading →