Piffka would prolly have nifty solstice honoring suggestions...
WINTER SOLSTICE....(WINTER) DEC 21 2005 falls at 1:35 PM EST or 18:35 GMT
info from:
http://www.geomancy.org/archaeoastronomy/ritualtiming.html
I didn't find all that much on the winter solstice by Piffka, but did run across this quoted poem in one of her posts...
quoting -
So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people, singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them,
Echoing, behind us - listen!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends, and hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!
(Christmas Revels, 1977, S. Cooper)
No fireplace - and not a lot of legal burning allowed.
Candles are ok - maybe I'll take the citronella torches out for a brief lighting in the backyard.
Wow, there is a precise time! 1:35! Noted.
Have to do something. Will probably involve candles, maybe ivy...
Winter Solstice (2005):
Solar Longitude..270.0 degrees
21th 12, 2005 18h 34m 43s (Greenwich Mean Time)
2453726.27411 (julian day number)
summer solstice here, as dlowan has noted!
Troublees down the coast, near where I'm going for my holidays on Boxing Day
Light options:
1. Light up Christmas Tree
2. Consume copious alcohol and light up yourself.
3. Light candles outside and dance nekkid (is it that sort of solstice?)
4. Go and stand under a street light - wrapped in something glittering
5. .......................................
hmmm. i like standing under a street light in something glittering. yep. like fish scales? or covered in honey? christmas tree ornaments? perhaps all of the above...
Littlek--
I'm not neglected--son and d-i-l are both students with full time jobs. If the weather weren't so damn seasonable, I'd be out walking and exploring while they are gainfully occupied, but I Don't Do Slush Solo.
Further, part of my Winter Escape is to establish some time for contemplation and self-confrontation.
During my "normal" life I spend most of my time at home. In the last five days I've had more social occasions and frivolity than I'd have in an entire Winter Season on my home ground.
Too much stimulation and I go cranky as a toddler who needs a nap.
:-)
I just finished decorating my living room, and while it's apparent I'm celebrating something, I'm hard-pressed to say what.
Take my mantel. I got a long fresh/ live cedar garland crazy-cheap, and took off everything that was there and used that to cover the entire mantel (it's long, see pic on Boomer's "My house..." thread). Then I put a bunch of little white lights in it ("in" rather than "on" 'cause I concealed the wires with cedar) and put back a bunch of gods and goddesses (who are nicely lit up) but not the other stuff (again, see photo, I'd put it here but it's long and would stretch things). I also prominently displayed my menorah, which I will light for Hanukkah.
So... fresh evergreens... lights... and Ganesh and Buddha and Quan Yin. Hmmm.
Sounds wonderful, sozobe. My Christmas decorations were hung from a two-tiered plant stand in front of the eastern window, with two gloriously blooming strident pink Christmas cacti. Quite festive looking.
The winter solstice is not my favorite solstice, as the longest, darkest, dreariest day of the year is not my favorite. But I will mark it in some fashion.
I could have a bon fire as I have a huge mound of brush out front. If I have the courage, and if the breeze is low, I may light it up in the afternoon. But not at night.
Contemplative and inward is my normal state this time of the year, being deprived of outdoor gardening and landscaping activities.
And where does the Piffka hang out these days?
satt_fs wrote:
21th 12, 2005 18h 34m 43s (Greenwich Mean Time)
Much more correct value is:
21st Dec 18h 34m 56.0s GMT.
Seven and a half hours until the sun starts north again.
Congratulations and kind thoughts to all who have survived and to all who plan to expand their dominions.
Remember, "As the days grow longer, winter grows stronger," but under the frozen ground, buried roots are flourishing.
Spring is only three months away.
O my gosh, so soon!
I'm delighted.
Quote:Winter solstice this year.
Winter solstice for 2005 will occur at 10:35 am PST on December 21. If you want to be precise about it, please be sure to correct for your time zone. Planning for upcoming seasons? Here's a chart through 2020, but it's based on Universal Time, so you'll need to adjust it for your time zone.
http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html#1999
Less than an hour til winter solstice here.
Quote:Many of the ancient traditions surrounding Yuletide are concerned with coping with the darkness and the evils it was thought to harbor, and helping the return of light and warmth.
Take holly, for instance.
Evergreens were cherished at this time of year as a natural symbol of rebirth and life amid winter whiteness. But holly was particularly prized to decorate doors, windows and fireplaces because of its prickliness -- to either ward off or snag and capture evil spirits before they could enter and harm a household.
Sort of like flypaper for faeries.
http://www.candlegrove.com/yule.html
Solstice just happened here.
In celebration, I will turn on every light in the house this evening for a period of time. I think I have chickened out about the bonfire.
We did a solstice dance around the Christmas tree.
There was a lot of hopping and arm-waving.
