Winter Solstice Pearls

The Winter Solstice is an ancient holiday to recognize the importance of Sun’s energy. The pre-Christian Yule (jól) festival had its origins in Scandinavia but was later entwined (with other pagan celebrations) with the Christian holiday of Christmas. In the first century BC Roman calendar, Marcus Terentius Varro wrote that December 25 was the date for the Winter Solstice.

Yule (symbolizing renewal) in more “modern” times has a focus on reflection as well as celebration. To participate in solstice rituals today, one might consider the early symbolism of seasonal plants such as evergreen pine branches (healing), holly (God), and mistletoe (Goddess).  Rituals also include singing and sharing food.

Having a bonfire or lighting a Yule log in the fireplace symbolizes the elongation of daily sunlight as days become “longer” in terms of noticeable sunshine. Those who honor this ritual annually hold small pieces of last year’s log as reminders of aspects they had desired for the coming year. Spiritually, the Winter Solstice honors the renewal of more light while acknowledging the darkness that we harbor within ourselves. Each individual releases their remnants of dark thoughts/deeds into this year’s fire before setting intentions for the coming year. Might this begin your New-Year-resolution setting?

The Yule spirit includes an appreciation of nature, a good daily practice whether in sunlight or not. This unappreciated holiday (literally, holy day) is one of unity. Those who hold differing spiritual traditions might come together on the Winter Solstice, as celebrating our precious Sun belongs to no one spiritual tradition. There are no Sun territorial boundaries to war over.

Helen Berger, visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, suggests that paganism may be supplanting some Americans’ search for a less organized religion. “There’s this outward joyousness about the light.”  Pagan rituals for the Winter Solstice include a sacred circle with a cleansing of the inner space with smoke: “…in that circle, part of what we say is that we are in a place that is no place, and time is no time, and we are between the worlds.”

Child-literature writer Susan Cooper writes in her picture book, The Shortest Day:

“…this Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now…
Welcome, Yule!“

Let’s take a higher road and be gratitude-ready. Let’s awaken a peace presence as sunshine increases each day by seconds until mid-January when there is a 2-minute-per-day increase. Remember, we share one planet (at least until immigration can begin on Mars) and ONE SUN.

Are our actions “modern?” Singer/songwriter Jennifer Cutting leads a way forward: “We pray for peace…so let us sing to welcome in the turning year…we hold the pen that writes the tale…to know what to keep and what to let go….”

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

353. What thoughts from 2024 might you release to a symbolic fire?

354. How might you prepare for peaceful relationships for the coming year?

Janis Johnston's avatar

By Janis Johnston

Janis Clark Johnston, Ed.D., has a doctorate in counseling psychology from Boston University. She has worked with children, families, and groups (ages 3-83) with presenting issues of anxiety, depression, trauma, loss, and relationship concerns. She initially worked as a school psychologist in public schools and was awarded School Psychology Practitioner of the Year for Region 1 in Illinois for her innovative work. She was a supervising psychologist at a mental health center, an employee-assistance therapist and a trainer for agencies prior to having a family therapy private practice. Recipient of the 2011 Founder’s Award for her dedication to the parenting education of Parenthesis Family Center (now called New Moms), and the 2002 Community Spirit Award from Sarah’s Inn, a domestic violence shelter and education center, Johnston is an active participant in numerous volunteer activities supporting children and families in her community. A frequent presenter at national psychology and educational conferences, Johnston has published journal articles, book chapters, and two books -- It Takes a Child to Raise a Parent: Stories of Evolving Child and Parent Development (2013, hardback; 2019, paperback) and Midlife Maze: A Map to Recovery and Rediscovery after Loss (2017, hardback; 2019, paperback). In addition to augmenting and supporting personal growth in families, Johnston is a Master Gardener and loves nurturing growth in the plants in her yard.

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