Merry Winter Solstice

The candles are burning, a log in the wood stove, and my cast iron pot is serving yet another year as my simmer pot. Tonight, the pot contains apple, orange, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, anise and rosemary. That's what I was intuitively led to fill it with tonight. And combined with the fragrance of pine scented candles and wood burning in the stove, it really smells like the holiday season in my living room.

Earlier this month, I had the honor of visiting Brú na Bóinne in the Boyne Valley in County Meath, Ireland. I find it so very fascinating that this tomb was built over 5,000 years ago with the entrance passage engineered in such a way that on this very day the sun lights up the inner chamber. And only on this day. The Winter Solstice. Because I've been inside the monument, and they demonstrated just how the sun fills the inner chamber on the Winter Solstice, I have watched the online postings today to see the various photos and videos. Later, I hope to tune into YouTube and see if I can find a replay of the actual event.

The celebration of the Winter Solstice --or Yule--is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. Today is the shortest day and longest night of the year. The rituals and symbolism of these celebrations has been passed down through hundreds of years and are intended to be a time for renewal and reflection.

In early cultures, this day represented the contrast between light and dark, as well as death and rebirth. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the cold and barren winter. A time to go within, to stay inside the warmth of the home, for animals to find their winter dens and hibernate. From the beginning of time, regardless of the culture, this day is celebrated with fire and light which was intended to help power the sun for its gradual return.

One of the best things about any celebration is that we can make it personal. Do it however we want to do it. There are no specific rules to follow. You might want to put something different in your simmer pot or not do a simmer pot at all. Maybe you will burn incense instead of candles or light a bonfire or a Yule log. Do what is in your heart or what lifts your soul, because that is what this is all about.

Have a Blessed Winter Solstice Night!

Entrance to Newgrange or Brú na Bóinne in the Boyne Valley