December: The longest darkness, ‘tis the season of good tidings and joy

“ O Winter!...king of intimate delights, fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness…” 

William Cowper (1731-1800)

A wintry season consisting of the longest nights of darkness, yet host to the most extravagant festivals. Many across the northern hemisphere feel this a deeply spiritual time as the themes of re-emergence (the returning light), new beginnings and when everything seems wonderfully possible.

New Moon emerging December 4th with its energy of new beginnings…

Filled with energies of a second wind or shifting gears, the Full Moon December 18th goes by several names:  Cold Moon, Moon Before Yule, Long Night Moon.  

And the Dark Moon December 29th with its energy of endings…in order to create a space for the new moon beginnings rapidly approaching with 2022…

Did you know?

•  Midwinter is a time to look forward to hope

• January is named for Janus, Roman god of doors and new beginnings

• Lighting the Hanukkah menora remembers the Talmud story of how a day’s supply of non-consecrated oil miraculously kept burning for 7 days

• Winter Solstice, the shortest day/longest night  is celebrated in multiple prehistoric sites and circles of standing stones

• Japan has the Shinto Grand Ceremony of Winter with lighting fires on Mt Fuji

• In ancient Persia, fires were kept burning; acts of charity and prayers offered during Solstice

• Father Christmas saint’s day is December 5th in Netherlands, Germany, and norther Europe.

• Santa Clause appeared in USA in the 1820’s, followed by the poem “The Night Before Christmas” (originally ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’ by Clement Clarke Moore)

• Yule Logs among Norse peoples echo customs of an oak branch (slowly burning with great heat) in the hearth.   Red candles on the chocolate Yule Cake represent flames, meanwhile the festival focuses on the endurance of fir, holly, pine and evergreens.

• Mistletoe considered a magical plant in the folklore of Celts, Romans and Greeks, with the ‘kissing’ custom connected to a Norse myth.

• Christmas Stars (on top of the tree), like the brighter than average star above Bethlehem; however 3 occasions when Saturn and Jupiter formed a conjunction  so close together, might have appeared to be a single, brilliant star.

This season, rather than whining about the dark and the cold, I invite you to consider giving yourself permission, to make time willingly with positive expectation and delight in snuggling in on these earlier darker evenings…perhaps on a snowy or stormy afternoon, to meditate, read for pleasure, start and complete a craft.

Take these opportunities to learn to love the discipline, self-teaching— the practice of being still and quieting the mind and move with your inner rhythm and muse.

Rituals of self-nurturance are the mortar that holds the day together---Upon waking and settling in at bedtime, while it is quiet and still;  stretch, music, aromatherapy, create or enjoy your ‘comfort drawer’ filled with your favorite treats and toys.

When we live happier, with relief, calm or ease in our step, we accomplish more than when we work harder.

Notice these seasonal transitions throughout nature. There are signals of delight, awe and wonder daily, if we merely take a moment to pause and notice.

This season may you experience your own light, and embrace the hopes and dreams that will unfold without trying to create anything.

This is the season to rest, to pause. 

So pause.

 ‘Tis the Season of good tidings and joy~