Solstice

[Real Swell Gal]

So this Sunday the 21st is the Winter Solstice.
As Deists we do not celebrate Christmas in the same manner most people do but we do celebrate the Solstice.
I was wondering if any one else here does and if so what are you traditions?

We generally give the house a good cleaning and decorate it with typical winter decorations before hand. We have a tree the kids decorate because they love it.

On Solstice I make a really good dinner. Usually pork because that is an old Solstice tradition. We bring the "Light" into the house with candles and make the house as cozy as possible. It's more of a family night for us. We watch holiday movies together and the kids and I make winter crafts. Last year we made bird feeders with pine cones,peanut butter and birdseed.
We talk about how happy we are that the days will be getting longer and the acomplishments we have made throughout the year.

Happy Solstice!

 

[dhermann1]

While I am an extreme traditionalist when it comes to celebrating Christmas, by the same token I'm always trying to lecture people about the "true" nature of the holiday. As we all know by now, our pagan ancestors in northern Europe (those of us who had ancestors in northern Europe, that is) built bonfires on the hills on the longest night of the year to make the sun come back to life. And luckily it always worked. This probably goes back 10 or 20,000 years.
During the Roman Empire they celebrated a holiday called Saturnalia at this time. And I just was reminded the other night in a great TV show on PBS about the history of Christianity, the Mithraist religion, which came out of Persia at the same time as Christianity, believed that Mithra was born on December 25th. The Roman calendar was a little off from ours today. Their Dec 25th was the same day as our Dec 21st, so really their Dec 25th was the actual solstice. (Did I make that as clear as mud? Sorry.)
So the early Christian leaders, not really knowing when Jesus was born, decided to celebrate his birth on Dec 25th. That's my theory anyway. People who don't know their actual birthdays often choose saint's days to celebrate, so I believe this is basically what was done with Jesus' birth.
But the scientific reality is, the farther north you go, the greater difference there is in day length between the summer and winter. Most of western Europe is pretty far north. New York City s on the same latitude as Naples, Italy, and London is actually almost as far north as Moscow. If weren't for the Gulf Stream, it would be a CHILLY place.
So they battled the natural tendency toward what we now call Seasonal Affective Disorder by brightening things up a bit. That, to me, is the whole idea. When I hear people say they hate Christmas because of this or that, I think they're just not getting it. The whole purpose of the holiday is for us to consciously decide to do anything we can to cheer ourselves and each other up. It's a very basic thing, if we want to reborn, we have to make a conscious decision to have a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. You can make a very short hop to a number of religious beliefs, it's no accident. But regardless, it's up to all of us to try to help each other have a MERRY CHRISTMAS/HANUKAH/SOLSTICE EVERYBODY!!!

 

[BinkieBaumont]

Summer Solstice

As I live in the Antipodes, it will in fact be the Summer Solstice, or the longest day!!! i should celebrate , with lots of Music,Dancing, and Feasting at Baumont Hall, as I will be in the Country on that date

 

[donCarlos]

Merry Saturnalia to you all!

I thought about celebrating solstice, but it´s the same as with christmas - it´s too short. (Saturnalia is celebrated from 17.-23. December)

 

[Edward]

This may well be my last post of 2008, as on Sunday 21st I ship out to begin my annual tour of familial duty back in the Old Country. There's a small chance I may post from the parental nest, as it seems broadband internet access has finally reached small-town Ireland, but just in case (and as this appears as appropriate a thrad as any):

A very Merry Christmas - or whichever holiday or festival it is you choose to celebrate - to all, and to all, a good night!

My Christmas truly begins this evening with, as has now become my tradition, a trip to see the Pogues in concert.

 

[Dewhurst]

The wife and me celebrate the Solstice, but we celebrate it on the 25th.

Reasons Greetings!

 

[missmelly]

I celebrate Yule...I light a candle in every room to celebrate the rebirth of the sun... And I decorate my wishing tree with snowflakes and put my wishes for the New Year on it....
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away."

 

[Real Swell Gal]

I had a pork tenderloin on the rotisserie. I made cranberry and apple stuffing,green bean caserole, seven layer salad, dinner rolls and baked apples with ice cream and caramel sauce.
Paul has a stash of Sam Adams Winter Ale and I made a crock pot of spiced cider (with rum hehehehehe) and we had a cheeseball for the guys to nibble on.

The kids will be made ginger bread men for their activity with the other kids.


The house was cozy and of course I had all the candles lit.
It's been a long year and I am just happy that we still have so much when others have lost so much.

Love to you all and a Happy Yule!




Best pic of the night......

 

[LaMedicine]

Winter Solstice tradition in Japan

Eat pumpkin boiled in soy sauce and sugar dashi soup, and take yuzu citron bath to prevent catching colds and staying healthy through the winter.
Yes, I cooked the pumpkin, and yes, I peeled the yuzu citron to put the peeled skin in the hot tub.