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The Sun Has Returned!
Dec. 22nd, 2016 08:56 am Last night was our traditional all-night Solstice vigil.
To be fair, the tradition has varied over the years. When it's -bazillion out, we tend to go heavy on the SYMBOLIC when it comes to actually sitting outside around a bonfire. But, yesterday was mild enough that we planned to try to stay out as long as we could.
First, though, before the sun went down, we lit the Yule Log and sang "Fa-la-la-la-la," because it's one of the few Christmas songs that is clearly about Solstice/Yule. Then we pulled out a picnic meal and opened Solstice presents.
Solstice presents differ from Christmas presents in that they're personal, simple, and cheap (possibly even homemade.) But, if they're any not those things, then they're MEANINGFUL in some way. Like, for instance, the Solstice Fairy always buys our family a gift--often a jigsaw puzzle because that's a group activity, and this year she found one with the Periodic Table of Elements on it.
In a surprise to no one (but a GREAT JOY to me), I got more stamps.
After we ate and cleaned up and played with our various gifts for a while, we went out to start the bonfire in the chiminea. Normally, I like to light the bonfire from a flame started at the Yule Log, but for some reason the candles I picked this year for the Yule log decided to poop out. But, so I got a fire blazing in no time. Mason made some snow people, because the snow was melty and easy to manipulate. We sang a bit, chatted, and drank hot chocolate. Mason went in and out to stay warm, and I fed the fire until we ran out of fuel for it sometime around 11 pm. At that point, I transferred the flame to a ten-hour votive and brought it inside.
I went to bed. Mason stayed up the rest of the night watching over it. He only just went to sleep after Shawn and I woke up in time in time to join him at sunrise to greet the returning sun.
A good Solstice. The sun is bright and strong this morning. A few minutes ago, watched sunlight hit the prism we keep in the windowsill and throw rainbow stripes all across the ceiling. (The Solstice miracles besides the return of the sunlight? The tree which hadn't been drinking much water, suddenly sucked up a ton last night! Also? The plows finally went down our block having missed our block several times now since the big snow storm.)
I spent a lot of my time in front of the fire last night just thinking about the up-coming year and the fight we have in front of us. There are a lot of flames we're going to have to tend and guard. Even if the big fie goes out, we're going to have to hold safe any light, no matter how small, that remains.
Even when the darkness is at its strength, when the night is longest.
We will preserve the light.
To be fair, the tradition has varied over the years. When it's -bazillion out, we tend to go heavy on the SYMBOLIC when it comes to actually sitting outside around a bonfire. But, yesterday was mild enough that we planned to try to stay out as long as we could.
First, though, before the sun went down, we lit the Yule Log and sang "Fa-la-la-la-la," because it's one of the few Christmas songs that is clearly about Solstice/Yule. Then we pulled out a picnic meal and opened Solstice presents.
Solstice presents differ from Christmas presents in that they're personal, simple, and cheap (possibly even homemade.) But, if they're any not those things, then they're MEANINGFUL in some way. Like, for instance, the Solstice Fairy always buys our family a gift--often a jigsaw puzzle because that's a group activity, and this year she found one with the Periodic Table of Elements on it.
In a surprise to no one (but a GREAT JOY to me), I got more stamps.
After we ate and cleaned up and played with our various gifts for a while, we went out to start the bonfire in the chiminea. Normally, I like to light the bonfire from a flame started at the Yule Log, but for some reason the candles I picked this year for the Yule log decided to poop out. But, so I got a fire blazing in no time. Mason made some snow people, because the snow was melty and easy to manipulate. We sang a bit, chatted, and drank hot chocolate. Mason went in and out to stay warm, and I fed the fire until we ran out of fuel for it sometime around 11 pm. At that point, I transferred the flame to a ten-hour votive and brought it inside.
I went to bed. Mason stayed up the rest of the night watching over it. He only just went to sleep after Shawn and I woke up in time in time to join him at sunrise to greet the returning sun.
A good Solstice. The sun is bright and strong this morning. A few minutes ago, watched sunlight hit the prism we keep in the windowsill and throw rainbow stripes all across the ceiling. (The Solstice miracles besides the return of the sunlight? The tree which hadn't been drinking much water, suddenly sucked up a ton last night! Also? The plows finally went down our block having missed our block several times now since the big snow storm.)
I spent a lot of my time in front of the fire last night just thinking about the up-coming year and the fight we have in front of us. There are a lot of flames we're going to have to tend and guard. Even if the big fie goes out, we're going to have to hold safe any light, no matter how small, that remains.
Even when the darkness is at its strength, when the night is longest.
We will preserve the light.