To honor the winter solstice, we suggest embracing the darkness.
Tomorrow, December 21, is the shortest day of the year in Seattle. The sun will rise at 7:55 am and set at 4:20 pm, giving us just 8 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds of winter daylight.
At In Harmony, we like to pause and honor the solstice. We founded In Harmony almost 30 years ago with a goal to connect our clients’ landscapes more closely to nature in order to make them, and the planet, healthier. The solstice celebrates our connection with the natural world, with darkness and light.
The solstice is an ancient pagan holiday. It includes traditions such as building a bonfire to bring warmth and light into the darkness and picking evergreen boughs to symbolize everlasting life.
Ways to mark the winter solstice
A recent article in the Seattle Times suggests ways to mark the winter solstice, from community solstice walks to learning about astronomy, from reflection and introspection to dinners with friends and family. FOX13 offers a few more ideas to celebrate the winter solstice, including quiet walks, dramatic readings and music.
Honor the winter solstice by embracing the dark
To honor the winter solstice, we suggest embracing the darkness. Perhaps you could find a place outside away from the bright lights. Or you could darken your home and light candles. You could make a fire in your fireplace or fire pit.
You may want to take a moment to think about your connection to the sun and its eternal motion, and your relationship with the earth. You could consider what you are grateful for, what you would like to release into the darkness, and what you would like to bring forward into the light. Some people use the solstice to set goals and intentions for the year ahead.
Here is a poem by Wendell Barry.
To Know the Dark
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.
