All cultures of the Northern Hemisphere have some sort of festival to mark the winter solstice. Over the years and cultures, these have included the Saxon's
Modraniht, Persian
Yalda, Babylonian
Zagmuk, Jewish
Tevet, and of course the Christian version (based on pagan festivals),
Christmas.
It's an important moment. From our perspective on Earth, the sun halts its sinking arc and northward journey, and soon the days will turn longer. From the sun's perspective, the northern pole of Earth quits tilting away from the sun. At any rate, it's a time to cast off our grudges and fears, embrace our friends and family, and celebrate our hopes for better (and longer!) days to come.
And what's a winter solstice celebration without a bonfire?
A bonfire that gets so hot everyone must move away, take off their clothes, and roll naked in the snow. Well, we'll leave out those last two parts:
MollyTheDog has her own version of the time-honored celebration. She builds a dog-cult elk bone circle in the front yard:
Merry Solstice (whatever your holiday of choice) to all!
4 comments:
Interesting tradition and beautiful snaps.
I love bonifres. But there is nothing, short of catching on fire myself, that would induce me to roll naked in the snow!
Merry Christmas Eco.
troutbirder
Lucky Molly! Annie keeps wanting the deer leg in the field, but spoilsport mom keeps dragging her away!
Hope your festivals were all you hoped them to be, including the elk bone circle festival!
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