Today may we welcome back the light!!

this is my holiday decor . . .  light and peace

 "In winter we lead a more inward life. 

Our hearts are warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, 

but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends." 

Henry David Thoreau 

For anyone who knows me or has been following me in the cyber-sphere, it will be of no surprise that today, December 21, is one of my favorite holidays/celebrations . . .the winter solstice!! the shortest day/longest night for us northern hemisphere folks. It is when the light begins its return and faith in something larger is renewed . . 

My dear friend, Willa DeVoti Worsfold, shared a wonderful description of the history of this special day and an ideal quote from Henry David Thoreau which I in turn wish to share with you!

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history. Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of midwinter sun.

Some ancient peoples believed that because daylight was waning, it might go away forever, so they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back. The tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year is passed down from those ancient bonfires. In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday. In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated with the festival of Saturnalia, during which all business transactions and even wars were suspended, and slaves were waited upon by their masters.

(Thank you The Writer's Almanac & Willa DeVoti Worsfold <3)

art blog post from2010 about the Winter Solstice: return of the light

blessed be!! xxx

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