This season is for me what Lent is to Christians, the High Holy Days is for Jewish worshipers. My holy day is the winter solstice, and I spend the time between Samhain (All Souls Eve or Halloween) up to the time of the feast for Brighid (February) using this time of the passing of the light and the coming of the darkness, to take an inner journey in the soul, removing the useless, preparing for rebirth the coming spring.
On the night of the solstice, I shall gather with my friends and many others at our annual solstice celebration. The evening begins with a labyrinth walk, followed by a ritual meal. Then we proceed to the sanctuary for the telling of the solstice story in ritual, chanting, music, and story telling. After the directions are closed, we then chant and spiral dance downstairs to the community hall for music, laughter, cider and ginger cookies for the next few hours, dancing and celebrating the coming of the light and the community we have together. The very next day, the days begin to get progressively longer, and by February (the seed moon) seeds in the soil are germinating preparing for the birth of spring in a few months. By then, the seeds of my inner journey will have also been planted and new growth there will have begun.
This is an amazing time of year. Christians celebrate the birth of their savior. Jewish people celebrate Chanukah, the day G_d performed the miracle of the lights. Many of many of my black friends celebrate the pride of Kwanzaa. Just past is the Muslim celebration of Eid, the date of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Not long after in mid January is Makar Sankrant, the Hindu holiday for the passage of the sun into the Northern Hemisphere, one of their most important holidays. Japanese Buddhists celebrate Buddha's enlightenment this year in a couple of days.
Whatever your celebration, whatever your faith journey, may your holidays be blessed and beautiful. Here is a photo from one of my previous solstice celebrations:
