Winter Solstice 2016

On Saturday night we celebrated the winter solatice. We gathered early in the afternoon, enjoyed a glass of warm spiced mulled wine and warmed our hands by the fire, the children roasted giant marshmallows. As the night started to set in we lit our lanterns and slowly ambled with our procession to the beach, you could feel the children excitement.

camp fire

We walked along the beach and all the adults kept commenting how late if felt, even though the clock had barely struck 6. The night was so calm and the bay glassy. I started thinking about moving with the seasons, and following the seasons, and flowing with the seasons, and how important that had always been to our lives.

But these days it seems to be more and more ignored, as we add more and more convenience and technology to our lives. The days get dark early in winter because we need more sleep, we need hibernation, we need to go to bed earlier. We need to slow down. The hearty winter, stodgy, carb filled foods, potato, pumpkin, carrots, swede, turnips all should be consumed in winter, because that’s when they’re grown and that’s obviously what our body needs.

lantern walk

But with so much convenience, so much ease in getting tomatoes in June, and leaving lights on so that we can have longer days, we’re ignoring the basic instincts.

The days in summer are longer because we need longer days for growing, harvesting, being out and working the land. We once used those long days in a way that we could be more productive in summer so that we could work to fill our stores for winter.

So as the days get longer, enjoy the slowness of winter, take some early nights and eat some hearty winter food. But today, light a candle to welcome the light back into your life. Look forward to those long summer days, they’re not too far off.

4 thoughts on “Winter Solstice 2016

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