In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice occurs during the coldest season of the year, when the sun is at it’s lowest angle and is seen for it’s shortest period. This is the moment of new beginnings- the darkest time, with the brightest hope.
Many ancient solstice traditions are adopted and absorbed into Christmas festivities. I mark the solstice separately from- but linked to- Christmas. This a good occasion to honor the sun, and remember that in spite of our technology, we are still dependent on the sun for life. Our world does revolve around the sun!
Agenda today:
1. Say a prayer:
Dong Zhi is the Chinese celebration of the winter solstice; it means "Arrival Of Winter". The Chinese have a great feast on Dong Zhi. Everyone wears new clothes, and visits their families with gifts.
The Dong Zhi Festival is a time of hope, optimism, and thanksgiving for a successful harvest, the fertility of the land, and the reunion of the family. Many people offer incense on the morning of Dong Zhi, and prayers of thanksgiving to Heaven and Earth, the household gods, and to the spirits of the ancestors. People also pray for safety and prosperity in the coming year.
My prayer today: I offer my grateful thanks for life, returning strength, my family and friends, and for this gift of slowed down days with time to daydream, read a bit, and take a nap.
2. Paint a plum tree calendar:
Dong Zhi is grounded in the Chinese idea of yin and yang- balance and harmony in life. The feminine yin qualities of darkness and cold are most powerful at this time but the solstice is the turning point, giving way gradually to the masculine yang of light and fire.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
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| Funny looking plum tree! |
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
Materials:
- soft absorbent paper (rice paper or newsprint)
- bottle of black sumi ink
- a Chinese brush
- or use a black marker!
1. Experiment with the brush. Dip your brush into the ink. Hold the brush vertically, very gently.2. Practice painting a tree and plum blossoms. To get fine lines, touch only the tip of the brush to the paper. Move your whole arm. Just paint the outline of the blossoms, and five dots in the center.
3. When you feel confident, paint a tree with 81 plum blossoms.
4. Hang the tree on the wall, and starting today color one flower red each day. At the end of nine-times-nine days, 81 red blossoms will welcome the spring!
3. Burn candles:
Yule (Jul) was a midwinter festival celebrated by the indigenous Norse and Germanic peoples, and is still celebrated by pagans today. The name might mean “Wheel of Fire”. The original date isn't known: It probably started about the time of the winter solstice and very likely at the new moon. It may have lasted three days, or twelve days.
Yule, as it is observed by neo-pagans, is the celebration of the rebirth of the Sun, and the beginning of the cycle of the year. Traditionally, a large oak log is burned tonight, and kept lit for 24-hours or more.
We don't have a fireplace, so we will burn candles instead.
Tonight, on the darkest night, I honor the sun as demonstration of the Divine Power.
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