To honor the winter solstice, embrace the dark.

As the days grow darker, many of us celebrate the holidays with family and friends, whether Christmas, Hanukkah or another occasion. Lights on the Christmas tree, lights on rooflines and windows, candles on the menorah or the warm glow of a fireplace are all ways to bring cheer into the dark days of December.

At In Harmony, we work to connect our practices and our clients’ landscapes with the rhythms of Mother Nature. So we always pause and acknowledge the winter solstice. The solstice celebrates our connection with the natural world, with darkness and light.

The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. This year the winter solstice is on Thursday, December 21. This is the moment when the sun stops its apparent southward path and moves back toward the north. It marks the rebirth of the sun, when days begin to grow longer.

The solstice is an ancient pagan holiday. It includes traditions such as picking evergreen boughs to symbolize everlasting life and building a bonfire to bring warmth and light into the darkness.

A recent article in Sunset suggests several ways to celebrate the winter solstice. Many are familiar Christmas traditions.

• Build a yule altar
• Make an evergreen yule wreath
• Burn a yule log
• Decorate a yule tree
• Exchange nature-based gifts
• Give back to nature
• Celebrate in candlelight
• Set up a meditation space

Honor the winter solstice: embrace the dark

To honor the 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 planet. 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.