What About The Winter Solstice Makes People Want To Celebrate?

What About The Winter Solstice Makes People Want To Celebrate?

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the day that many generations of people have celebrated on. Christmas, Yule, Saturnalia, Yalda, each and everyone happened on or around the solstice. There are so many ways to celebrate this day, my question is why? What about the winter solstice makes people want to celebrate?

Looking at the things people were celebrating on these holidays gives an answer, but not a certainty. Yalda, for example, celebrates the sun god, and is a day of feasts and lights. Filling the cold nights, celebraters call out to their sun god in a plea for her to return, and for her to defeat the darkness. Christmas is about family and lights - chasing away the darkness and about being kind. Similarly, Saturnalia is a week of chasing away the solitary time spent in the dark, and the custom of giving candles on the last day marks the return of the sun. Others celebrate the dark, a thank you to the dark for giving their crops the time they need to sleep, and their farmers a break from the hard work that happens year-round. Company, heralding of the light, kindness, well wishes for the coming year, so many reasons that every culture has found a way to honor. How absolutely inspiring, and a terrifyingly accurate evaluation of the human psyche. Fear. Fear of the sun’s continual absence, and our doom forced generations of our ancestors to pray, and plead for our continual life. For our families, and our livelihood, and our sanity. Nothing could possibly be scarier than the continual darkness to our ancestors, and their fear still reflects today. Christmas lights, candles, parades, warm food, hot fires, and celebration.

Now though, our traditions are more about fun and family than anything else. We aren’t scared of the dark, and it only took a few thousand years for the continual return of the sun to solidify in our minds the fact that the sun wouldn’t be disappearing any time soon. So, this holiday season my friends, honor your ancestors and have a great time. Despite everything, all of these traditions really wouldn’t have done anything to keep us all alive, and were more of a comfort that we could possibly do something to pass the time in the dark. So light up your Christmas tree, start up a fire, and have a great time!

Happy Holiday Wishes From the Husky Howl Team!