I am pleased to be participating in yet another Virtual Advent Tour, and seeing as today is the 21st of December, I would like to share a little about the winter solstice with you, along with some photos of my solstice celebrations yesterday (i.e. snowy woodland frolics!).
The winter solstice is both an astronomical and cultural event. In its astronomical meaning, the solstice occurs when the tilt of the earth's axis is furthest away from the sun, thus for people in the higher latitudes, this is observed as the shortest day of the year. The seasonal significance of this is that from this day on each year, the days begin to lengthen, and light returns to the world. It is this that has been celebrated each year for millenia, with the first records of the festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples in the 4th century, though it will likely have originated much earlier.
Yule was traditionally celebrated with feasting, drinking and general merriment, as pagans rejoiced in the banishing of the winter months. Other traditions that have since been incorporated into the winter festivals of many other cultures and religions include decorating homes with evergreens, yule logs (of the wood or chocolate varieties!), singing and christmas carols (known as wassailing) and the giving of gifts.
Yule is still celebrated around the world, by pagans, and others alike, with the festival undertaking many changes with other cultures and religions taking on facets, but all include a celebration of light. As today is unfortunately a work day, I celebrated Yule yesterday with a long walk through woodlands and past the frozen lake of the Blickling estate which was beautifully covered in snow. On Christmas eve I will be joining my family for a few days feasting, followed by my last historical excursion of the year, Hampton Court, assuming I can make it there in the snow!
So here is wishing you all a very festive Yule, Christmas and New Year, and any other traditions you may be celebrating. May the light return swiftly for us all.
18 comments:
Ah, winter! So many times more beautiful than summer, thank you for sharing your lovely pictures. The sky is breath taking!
Lovely photographs and a nice description of the solstice. I love your blog!
Mariel, I was going to do my advent post on the solstice too, so I'm glad I came here and read yours first! I'm going to link to yours, and do another one I had in mind.....I love your photographs, and I'm so glad you got outside to celebrate the solstice. Happy Solstice to you, and joyous holidays!
Yay, shortest day of the year! It's nice to know days will start getting longer, but... god, it will be cold!
Those photos are so beautiful, Mariel. I get strange looks at work every year when I wish them a happy Winter Solstice. I think it's a wonderful time to celebrate and appreciate nature and the returning of the light.
Thank you for the wonderful post.
Beautiful photos. I hope one day I can see snow for real...happy holidays!
I LOVE your Yule walk! I adore the Solstices and Equinoxes. :)
Morrica - Thanks for stopping by. Autumn is my favourite season, but there is nothing quite like snowy landscape, especially when I am not used to it!
Tina - Thank you!
Susan - Many thanks my friend, and I enjoyed reading your post.
Aarti - I'm looking forward to the lighter evenings and brighter mornings of spring, but you are right, there's still the cold winter months ahead!
Literary Feline - Thank you. I get the impression people think I am joking when I wish them a happy solstice or a merry Yule! Most of my friends are used to me now though ;) I find that this is the time of year that I most love spending with trees, they are unencumbered with leaves and fruits, and their structure is fascinating to me (nature nerd that I am!).
Carina - Thank you, and I do hope you get to experience snow, its beautiful and so much fun, especially if you have a warm fire to go back to!
Eva - Thank you! I thoroughly recommend them. I really enjoy seeing the same place through each season.
The 4th and 6th shots just made my heart swell with their beauty. What an exquisite way to celebrate the return of longer days. Really enjoyed your post, as well as your review of The Master and Marguerita which I noticed in your sidebar.
What beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing your pre-Solstice walk with us.
-sprite
spritewrites.net
These photos are just beautiful! Thank you for sharing them with us, and your wonderful Solstice post. I didn't know it had been celebrated for that long.
Ashley- Wonderful In Progress
Lovely photos!
Hope you had an exceptionally happy holiday this year :)
Gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing and for participating in the tour!
Beautiful pictures! Thanks so much for joining in!
Julia - Thank you. There really is nothing like a walk outdoors to really appreciate the seasons, even if it is sadly rather flat!
kkfea74 - Thank you!
Ashley - Thanks. The solstice is one of the oldest rites to still be celebrated today. Even back then people appreciated the importance of the sun, perhaps more than today as life depended on it far more.
Ladytink - It was a particularly beautiful solstice with all the snow!
Marg - Thanks :)
Kailana - Always a pleasure!
beautiful photos!
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
I'm too late to wish you a Happy Winter Solstice but just wanted to say that the photos are simply gorgeous. There's something almost elegant about bare trees in winter, especially with a coating of snow. Thanks so much for sharing these with us, and I hope you had a lovely holiday.
Thanks!
Tanabata - Elegant is the perfect word to describe them. This is the time of year that I am most fascinated by trees because every part of them is visible, not obscured by leaves, flowers or fruit. Beautiful!
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