This is a holiday-filled time of year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, you have Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas. And in the middle of it all, we have the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night.
There are many ancient traditions around celebrating the Solstice. Some even left megalithic astronomical monuments like Stonehenge in England, Newgrange in Ireland and the Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon, N.M., created by the Pueblo Indians.
Most research indicates that the rituals and festivals around the Winter Solstice were started out of a place of fear, mainly that the waning light would never return unless an angry god was appeased. There was a lot of lighting candles, building fires and holding vigils until the triumphant return of the life giving sun. Over the years, the rituals have evolved, but you can see echos of that tradition in many religious and lay holiday practices today — what is that flashing LED Frosty the Snowman in your front yard, if not a declaration to the cold, dark and difficult days of winter that you will survive!
Besides the seasonal darkness, lately the world has been a pretty dark place. We’re dealing with ongoing environmental challenges and an international economic meltdown, not to mention the way that we humans persist in inflicting terrible suffering on each other through wars and terrorism. You have to admit, a vigil of light and hope sounds pretty appealing right about now. So this week for Step Up, I tried to think of some easy, but meaningful, ways that I could acknowledge the clean slate of the new year, and in the process add some light to the world. Here are a few I came up with:
- Picking a day to only talk about what I’m looking forward to in the new year — a new new president, some exciting career opportunities — instead of the things that have been worrying me (too numerous and boring to list).
- Literally lighting a candle and taking five minutes to be grateful for all of the things that are going right.
- Making time for mini-celebrations over lunch with friends I’ve been too busy to see.
- Actually sending cards this year, and including a note with a wish for each recipient in the new year.
- Going out of my way to pick up litter and recycling it every single time.
OK, that last one is more of a resolution than a ritual, and that’s another whole post. Still, it’s a good intention. What about you? Got a great idea for a “Fresh Start Ritual”? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Photo courtesy of Grufnik via Flickr