Happy Winter Solstice
Hey, all you Pagans there. Okay — all of you non-Pagans can join in. Today is the winter solstice, which is traditionally one of the most celebrated days of the year. From now on, the sunlight will be getting longer, proving that once again the promise of spring is not a false one. This was what was originally celebrated this time of year with feasting. This was such a central day in the year of our ancestors, that they went to great lengths to mark it.
Every year, the winter solstice moves, which makes it fall anywhere from December 20 - 23 on the current calander. Every year, I’m taken by surprise on which day it actually falls. Every year, it seems to come sooner and sooner.
Anyway, let’s get on with the clips, all somehow touching on the theme of winter. The first is a lovely animation by Tony Oswold. It’s a real treat — all 29 seconds of it:
The next is a slideshow about Newgrange, that great big old stone structure in Ireland that was built so that a shaft of sunlight hit a certain spot on only one day of the year — the winter solstice. The music is “Newgrange” by Clannad. The video clip was posted by “tubelookjohn”. Cheers, dude.:
Okay, so technically this next clip is an advertisement for a concert that happens this week, but it’s still a lovely little clip. Paul Winter is not a musician usually known for performing or kicking butt but he and his band the Paul Winter Consort manages to do both in clips from one of the Winter Solstice concerts held in New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Enjoy.
Leave a Reply