by solstice time
At [10:04 a.m. Pacific Time] on Sunday Dec. 21, 2008, the northern hemisphere begins its tilt back toward the sun, marking the winter solstice* in this part of the world and slowly leading to longer days.
This may be the first day of winter but winter’s been here for a while and hard: Old Man Winter hammers Canada, coast-to-coast*.
In much of this modern world of ours, we’ve lost our close connection to the earth and sun, to the movement of light and dark in that ever repeating cycle of the seasons, as well as the deep ancient fears and hopes tied to that. We’re reminded of that when we have power outages and have no heat in our homes. What will our future be like when we have permanent scarcities of oil and natural gas and electricity?
We remain cosy at home so far while it continues to snow here and we prepare for the arrival of family for Christmas. Our thoughts and wishes for safe journeys are with them and all travellers! Tonight we may light a fire and candles to mark the winter solstice. May all my readers be warm and looking forward to the holidays however you may celebrate them.
Related posts:
to light, 2007
the longest night, 2006, with Newgrange
happy winter solstice, 2005
and 2004
* expired link removed
December 21, 2008 in Canada and BC, Current Events, Home by Marja-Leena
And the happiest of holidays to you and yours, too! May 2009 bring light, peace and wisdom to our world.
Many thanks for your wonderful blog, which I have enjoyed reading this year. A clear sky with bright stars is my solstice wish for you and your loved ones. Cheers!
Best to you on the holidays. I love your blog and have sent links to friends so they can enjoy it too.
Joan, thank you for the wishes and for being a loyal reader and commentor!
Rouchswalwe, welcome and thank you! I’ve enjoyed the peek at your blog and will be back.
Hattie, how kind, thank you!
Happy Solstice, Marja-Leena. It’s very snowy back East, too. Fortunately, I have power, light and warmth. Stay warm! It’s all up from here 🙂
Leslee, thank you! I hope you have no delays or problems with your flight out Christmas Eve. With this weekend snowstorm, many flights in and out have been delayed. We received word that the flight from London to Vancouver that our daughter and family were to be on today has been cancelled, so it’s a wait and watch situation, like for many people. We’ll soon find out if the other daughter and partner will make it on the drive from the north.