Or Merry Solstice to you!
Years ago I blogged about an old BBC Radio 4 program I heard on a podcast. I was enthralled by it; I was addicted to the sensibility, the noises, the haunting background songs, and the idea of the magician as being the one to save the dying sun. It's a special piece that I listen to every year on my phone when I am able to.
There is something very old and authentic to the Winter Solstice to me, personally, I don't know if it is my Irish/Norweigian/German/English ancestry, but it's always been a date of interest to me. I look forward to it every year.
Every year I want to follow through on big plans. You know...have a Winter Soltice meal, burn a bonfire, wake up early to greet the Sun in the East, make Solistice wishes. It's always a romantic idea to me, but as with most things in life, there never seems to be time. This year was no exception.
However, there is one annual ritual I have done with my daughter, Hattie, every year since she has been born. That ritual? It's to read Susan Cooper's The Shortest Day. Illustrated by Carson Ellis, it's a beautiful and simple book that captures the essence of Solstice, to me anyway, through words and illustrations.
It's not much, but it's something that we share as a family. Sure, next year I'll plan to make a meal, burn a fire, meet the morning Sun, etc. etc...you know, things you always plan for. Yet I'm sure it too will pass into nothing as life continues to get in the way. I will, at the very least, be reading this to Hattie again in exactly one year's time, and I'm already looking forward to it!
So if you too enjoy today as much I do, I highly recommend this beautiful book to you and your loved ones if you are interested in it. There is magic in the written words and art that hopefully resonates with you as strongly as it does for me.
So...
Merry Solstice to you and your loved ones!