So the day has finally come (and gone) again when the winter solstice is here. In the midst of all the Christmas stress, it is easy for this scenic event to pass us by without any notice. However at the same time, you can start to see an increase of and attention to more holidays than just Christmas as Christianity celebrates it.
This increase is most easily seen through the social media of our time and thoughts about this are beginning to form in my mind. Through social media we get the chance to share our celebration and we get the opportunity to read how others celebrate this holiday. When I sit and read about how other people and traditions celebrate this period, I am struck by the similarity in the symbolism that is used. It lies just below the surface and is not particularly difficult to detect.
In the Christian tradition, this is symbolized by Christmas and the birth of Jesus, albeit on a different date (December 24). The Son of God (and thus God himself) is born. Within Dōngzhì, it is noted that Yin (the black, feminine part of Yin & Yang) is waning in strength and Yang (the white, masculine part) begins its increasing journey. In the Old Norse Midwinter Blot, it was/is customary to make sacrifices to Odin so that the coming year’s harvest would be rich. In the Egyptian celebration, you could pay tribute to Hathor-Sekmet or some other lion goddess combination and the journey of the ”wandering eye” throughout the year.
It doesn’t really matter if you celebrate the Christian Christmas, the more pagan Jòl/Yule, Saturnalia, Old Norse Midwinter, the Egyptian festivals or the Chinese (Taoism) Dōngzhì. What all these traditions have in common is that they want to symbolically demonstrate that the time of increasing darkness is over, that the increase of light is beginning and a hope that the coming period will be successful.
In addition to the similarity in the symbolism of all these traditions, it strikes me that all of us, regardless of tradition or cultural origin, actually have a WILL and a NEED to somehow mark and celebrate that the Light is increasing. All life on our earth is dependent on the Sun and at each winter solstice we all celebrate, worship and pay tribute to this celestial body in our own way. This to me is proof that we humans are still connected to and dependent on the sun, nature and the changing of the seasons.
Despite all our high technology, our nice houses made of steel and concrete, electric cars, computers and maybe(?) our denial, we are still children of the sun and part of nature. There is something so beautiful, magical and divine about this.
With these words, the Hermetic Order of the Nascent Aurora wishes you all a wonderful Winter Solstice!
Hermetiska Orden av Den Gryende Morgonrodnaden 