Thursday, December 22, 2011

Turning: Winter Solstice

The kids and I made luminaria to celebrate winter solstice--I like to bring in the light to remind us all that it will return, same as always. These ancient rituals make a lot of sense to me. Since the solstice occurs at 12:30 am on the 22nd, I'm not quite sure if Wednesday night is the longest night, or Thursday night. We decided to play it safe and light our luminaria both nights.

In actuality, they will be lit most of the winter, or else other candles will be lit--I like to have a centerpiece of candlelight when the evenings are dark and cold.


Directions on how the kids and I made these (with two versions, one for younger kids and one for older, both very easy) can be found here.

Happy Winter Solstice to my fellow northern hemisphere dwellers! Here comes the sun... (no, really!!)

3 comments:

Bells said...

how utterly lovely!

It's going to be a long time before we need mid winter candlelight. We're making do with putting the Christmas lights on once it's dark - it's not the same though.

Donna Lee said...

Peter Kevin swore it was just a bit brighter this morning.....He is such a sun lover.

I've always wanted to see the luminaria in Santa Fe. They put them everywhere and the effect is wonderful.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

LifeOnLiverpool said...

I like your luminaries! I think I'll add candle arrangements to the house. Need to remember to actually light them! Perhaps a new sunset tradition?