The following is a collection of four of my Winter Solstice “ramblings” (five if you count the repeat of 2009 last year). Winter Solstice thoughts for 2014 are in development. Please forgive the repetition from year to year. Some themes just persist.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2009
Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice, one of the most significant days in the year. Why? Astronomically, it is the point when the sun seems to start back in the opposite direction. If you have noticed, since about June 21 days have been getting shorter and nights longer, so that on December 21 the shortest day, and, hence, the longest night, of the year occurs. For us in the moderate climes (latitudes) it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but if you lived at the North Pole (or the South Pole) your days and nights would be exceedingly long.
Metaphorically, human cultures have developed religious and symbolic explanations and ritual celebrations in conjunction with the ebb and flow of the seasons, especially in relation to the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. For example, Eskimo culture, experiencing long periods of darkness, developed the following metaphoric explanation: once upon a time, the evil king stole the sun from the sky and put it in a box in his palace. Through divine intervention, including the miraculous birth of his grandson, the sun was rescued on December 21 and restored to its rightful place in the sky. The return of the sun was indeed something to celebrate! Other cultures, especially of the far north climes, developed stories and symbols celebrating the sun’s return: a rotund man dressed in red (the sun) bringing gifts (light); evergreen trees indicating that life persists, even in the midst of darkness; wreaths, evergreen circles symbolizing the continuous cycle of the seasons and the unending persistence of life.
The December celebration in the Roman Empire in the first century was called the “Saturnalia,” in honor of the god Saturn and marked the return of the “Golden Age.” The celebration lasted for seven days and was a time of feasting and gift-giving. The genius of the early Christian church was that it had the capacity to incorporate existing pre-Christian rituals and celebrations into its own annual calendar by giving those celebrations Christian content and meaning. By celebrating the birth of Christ in late December – scholars agree that this was not the actual time of his birth – the early church was greatly assisted in its efforts to convert non-Christians to its faith.
The Santa Claus figure was incorporated into Christmas celebrations through a mingling of both Christian and non-Christian sources. Santa Claus, a rotund (round) figure all dressed in red (the sun) who came from the North Pole (arctic darkness), bringing gifts (light) slowly became a central metaphorical symbol associated with an historic figure from the fourth century, Saint Nicholas (in Holland, Sinter Klaas). St. Nicholas’ death was celebrated in early December and was marked by feasting and gift-giving. Parents would encourage “proper” behavior in their children by telling them that if they were “good,” St. Nicholas would bring them gifts.
Our celebrations of Christmas, thus, derive from many cultures and many sources, all ultimately related to the winter solstice. For Christians, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the coming of the son, God made flesh. For the larger culture, it is a time for feasting, family reunions, and gift-giving. For commercial enterprises it is time for exploiting the generous spirit of the season, thus generating the largest profits of the year. For everyone, it is a time to celebrate the oneness of our common humanity on planet Earth, 93 million miles from the sun and tilted at 23.5 degrees.
So, in the spirit of generosity and tolerance, let me wish you a season, however you celebrate it, of joy, happiness, and above all, LIGHT (both literally and figuratively)!
WINTER SOLSTICE 2010
One of the most significant natural events of our planet Earth will occur next Tuesday, December 21. This event has inspired the creation of religions, folktales, mythologies, celebrations, festivals, and holidays through the ages. And yet its coming will go largely, if not completely, unnoticed by the vast majority of people as they go merrily on their way preparing to celebrate the holiday most inspired by this natural event, at least in western culture…Christmas. This event is the Winter Solstice.
A brief background. As our earthly home makes its annual trip around the sun, jauntily tilted at about 23.5 degrees, there are two significant points in its orbit, the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, and two mildly interesting points, the Equanoxes. The Solstices are significant because they mark the beginning of the change in the length of days. On, or about, June 21, days begin to get shorter until they reach the shortest day of the Year, December 21, the Winter Solstice, at which point days begin to get longer until they reach the longest day of the year, June 21. Mid-way between these two points (in March and September) daylight and darkness are equal. Thus, we have the making of “seasons,” Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. And in turn, the seasons define the agricultural round of the year which enables our very existence. It is quite understandable that our ancestors would celebrate this “return of the sun” because it was the assurance that they would not have to continue living in darkness, that Spring would follow winter and that life on earth would be renewed. Metaphorical interpretations become associated with the seasons: Winter (dormancy, death), Spring (new life, resurrection), Summer (growth, rest), Fall (harvest, thanksgiving). In particular, the Winter Solstice has been celebrated as the return of the sun (light) and personified as the round jolly man in the bright red suit. Most of us now participate in the “celebrations” of various holidays but have not the slightest clue as to their origins and meaning in the natural world. I wonder why that is!
Let me suggest some reasons. The first is our general ignorance and distrust of science (natural explanations). While our educational system gives a general nod to science, unless one is a science major, one does not acquire an in-depth understanding of the processes and rhythms of the earth. This is further exacerbated by the second reason, namely our separation and alienation from natural processes. Most of us live in cities and suburban places. We do not grow our own food or even see those who do. We have no idea of what is required to run a farm and no knowledge of the demands of changing seasons. The third reason for our general ignorance is our fear to grasp our full humanity and embrace our natural world. Instead, the metaphors that our ancestors created as explanations for their experiences of the world have become codified into literal explanations. In other words, originally, nature informed myth; now myth informs nature (the world) In scientific terminology, the independent and dependent variables have been switched. For example, the Eskimo experience of the Winter Solstice preceded and inspired their creation of the metaphor (story, myth) of the Raven. The Raven metaphor did not come first. It came after the experience of the days getting longer. I suppose you can tell I have been skirting issues related to our own culture. But to be honest let me be plain spoken: In agreement with what I have written, I believe the concept “God” is a metaphor created my our ancestors. Another way of stating it is: “And man created god in his own image.” (That is what I meant when I said the independent and dependent variables have been switched.)
While the return of the sun is a relatively minor event in our lives at this latitude, if you lived in the far North it would be a huge event. Why? Because you would have been living in the dark for six months.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE, 2011
MACK’S ANNUAL SOLSTICE RAMBLINGS
Greetings on this Winter Solstice of 2011. I have just come from Starbucks where I greeted people with, “Happy Winter Solstice!.” To my amazement and dismay, not one person knew that today is the Winter Solstice. I believe it is the most significant day in the natural, evolutionary, and human history of the planet Earth. In the natural cycles of the planet, today marks the end of the six month march toward darkness and the beginning of the march toward light, or the beginning of the planting, growing, and harvesting season. Without this agricultural cycle we simply would not exist. Metaphorically, the Winter Solstice has inspired the mythologies and religions of human cultures. The impact of the WS on the creation and evolution of mythologies and religions cannot be overstated. Yet, modern humans are almost totally unaware of this connection. Why? I think there are two reasons to account for this lack of knowledge. The first is that modern humans are separated/alienated from the natural world. We do not plants seeds, we do not grow crops, we do not slaughter hogs or cows, we do not shovel animal waste (or human waste). Thus, the “signs” of nature are unknown to us. Where the sun is in the sky is of no consequence for urban schedules.
The second reason why people do not know today’s meaning is because modern humans interpret mythologies and religious writings literally and supernaturally rather than metaphorically. Scholars have long known that the Christian church adopted the Roman celebration of the Saturnalia in late December as the birthday of Jesus. Rather than metaphor, most people view it literally. Cultures in the far north, particularly, have “stories” (myths or folktales) of a rotund man in a red suit (the sun) bringing gifts in December.
Why does it matter? It matter because literal interpretations remove us from responsibilities, namely, responsibility for ourselves, responsibility for others, and responsibility for the earth. Why do I think all this is important? Important enough to spend this time writing about it? Precisely because I am a child of this planet and universe. I am part of the Winter Solstice and the Winter Solstice is part of me. If I do not understand that, I do not understand what it means to be human. The old hymn which said, “This world is not my home, I’m just a stranger here…” had it all wrong, as does any religion or theology which teaches that. This world is my home and I do not want to be a stranger here. I want to love it and care for it and preserve it. I want to make it a more beautiful place than when I arrived
I conclude with the Eskimo myth of the raven and the return of the sun:
“A LONG TIME AGO THE RAVEN LOOKED DOWN FROM THE SKY AND SAW THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WERE LIVING IN DARKNESS. THE BALL OF LIGHT WAS KEPT HIDDEN BY A SELFISH OLD CHIEF. SO THE RAVEN TURNED HIMSELF INTO A SPRUCE NEEDLE AND FLOATED ON THE RIVER WHERE THE CHIEFS DAUGHTER CAME FOR WATER. SHE DRANK THE SPRUCE NEEDLE. SHE BECAME PREGNANT AND GAVE BIRTH TO A BOY WHO WAS THE RAVEN IN DISGUISE. THE BOY CRIED AND CRIED UNTIL THE CHIEF GAVE HIM THE BALL OF LIGHT TO PLAY WITH. AS SOON AS HE HAD THE LIGHT THE RAVEN TURNED BACK INTO HIMSELF. HE CARRIED THE LIGHT BACK INTO THE SKY. FROM THEN ON WE NO LONGER LIVED IN DARKNESS.” AN ESKIMO MYTH FROM NORTHERN EXPOSURE, YEAR 3, EPISODE 10, “SEOUL MATES”
THE WINTER SOLSTICE 2012
“THE ULTIMATE POWER IS THE SUN”
The Winter Solstice will occur again this year right on schedule, December 21 (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice) . For some reason, food has been much in my thoughts this year. Not what we eat or how we prepare it, both large economic industries in our society, but WHERE our food comes from and HOW we get and process it for our use. Here are some general observations and assumptions that will provide groundwork for what I am thinking:
Plants are the natural and only source of sustenance for human (animal) life on planet Earth.
Plants create what other forms of life require to exist through the process called photosynthesis (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/photosynthesis) Photosynthesis occurs on earth because of the earth’s relationship to the (a) SUN. I started to say “unique relationship to the sun” but I don’t know if it is unique or not in the universe. Light from the sun, therefore, is the ultimate source of life on earth. And for the most part (I’m hedging here) the relationship between the sun and earth during the earth’s 4.45 billion year history has been steady, reliable, and predictable. One benefit we humans derive from this reliability is the ability to predict the seasons: Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring. And in turn, that enables us to control the production of plants (agriculture). This has not always been so. In fact, if we posit the appearance of modern humans at 45,000 years ago, the ability to control plants (agriculture) appeared only about 8,000 years ago. So, you may ask, what did our human ancestors do for food before agriculture? The answer is, they simply existed on what was available in their environment. Here is a brief and very simplified history of human food-getting on the planet:
Hunters and gatherers. For that long period from about 45,000 BN (Before Now) to 8,000 BN, our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. The men (age 12 and up) hunted wild animals and the women gathered food available around the site where they lived at the moment. Their groups were small, mobile, and not socially structured hierarchically. One Hundred percent of adults in the group were required to participate is sustenance activities – food-getting. The primary energy source was human muscle power. They had simple technology and no specialists. The great animal myths came from this era as human groups (cultures) relied on animals as a major resource for both food and building supplies such as hides and bones. Evidently, killing fellow animals imbued in humans both conscience and guilt as reflected in those early myths.
Horticulture. Horticulture was a transitional period from hunting and gathering to agriculture. During this time people, mostly the women, observed and learned to plant seeds. At first simply in holes made with a sharp stick. But over time, more and more efficiently. This produced a little more food and freed a few people of having to hunt or gather and enabled them to work as specialists in activities like the priesthood or research and development. Now only ninety-five percent of adults were required to do sustenance activities. Human muscle power was beginning to be supplemented with domesticated animal energy as well as solar energy. Technology improved and expanded to the point that about 8,000 years ago the first great revolution in human history occurred : AGRICULTURE.
AGRICULTURE. Agriculture was the midwife of civilization: settled communities (towns and cities), specialization exploded, trade expanded leading to cultural cross-fertilization, education, science and technology grew exponentially. The percentage of those required to work on the farms dropped enormously, probably below fifty percent. Populations exploded as death rates dropped and birth rates continued high. Writing preserved knowledge and wisdom from generation to generation. Now, the major source of energy was animal muscle and solar energy. You get the idea. Nevertheless, food production was a major activity for large numbers of the populations until the next great revolution about 175-200 years ago: THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/agriculture}
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. The Industrial Revolution was born with the discovery and utilization of a new source of energy, fossil fuel (coal and oil). In his book, Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose wrote, “In 1804, nothing moved faster than a horse.” That was about to change. Steam engines replaced horses and sails. With high heat from coal, steel was forged. Railroad tracks spanned the continent of North America by 1869. The automobile replaced the horse and buggy. Tractors replaced mules and horses as farming was industrialized. Society was transformed with population shifts from rural to urban centers. When people met new people they didn’t ask, who is your father? But, what do you do? A fundamental shift in self-identification. Do you know what percentage of the population works in American agriculture today? About 2.5 percent.
So, my solstice question is: How do we get our food?
I remember going to my grandparents’ farm to watch the hog killing in the Fall of the year. I remember my grandmother “canning” great amounts of food in those Mason jars in huge boilers on the wood stove after working hard all spring and summer in the “garden” larger than an acre which had been fertilized with manure from the barn lot. That is not how I get my food.
I was in NewFoundland last Fall and heard about men getting ready to go into the woods to “harvest” their moose for the winter. That is not how I get my food.
Catching fish and drying them for winter consumption? That is not how I get my food.
I get my food from Krogers. I don’t slaughter my meat. I don’t grow and can my vegetables. I don’t grow my grain and take it to the mill. I don’t milk cows twice a day to get my dairy products.
I walk into Krogers, the front of which now looks like a temple, and there it is. All the food I need. Every time I walk into Krogers I am reminded of how separated I am from the sources of my food. It makes me feel alienated from nature in a fundamental way. But it also makes me so glad that getting food is so easy for me. No labor, other than pushing a cart, is required on my part. And that’s a good thing because my grandmother used to say, “That Mack is the laziest child I’ve ever seen.” She was right, too. But I try to think seriously about the growers, the harvesters, the meat packers, the processors, the teamsters, and the shelf stockers and clerks who assist me.
Some anthropologists think that religion and myths emerged out of the human necessity and endeavor to get food. Evidence of this is the creation of animal myths and the ritual celebrations at times in the agricultural cycle of death (Fall), burial (Winter) and resurrection (Spring). The Winter Solstice is an annual symbol of hope and reassurance that even when things seem the darkest, the sun will rise tomorrow, the days will get longer, and the time of renewal and rebirth is just around the corner, come March and April. A fundamental question is how do we moderns respond spiritually to the origins and sources of our daily sustenance – our food. For me, I depend on Kroger and have penned a prayer:
Oh Kroger, our Kroger, how great thou art among all the stores of the earth.
Thy aisles are wide, thy shelves are stocked and thou dost provide for our every need.
I am comforted by the variety and abundance of thy goods, and rest in the knowledge that thou wilt care and provide for me, even to the end…when I check out.
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE TO ALL!
WINTER SOLSTICE MESSAGE 2013
I was planning to write a new WINTER SOLSTICE essay for 2013 but have decided to reissue my piece from 2009. I made the decision based on the illusion (perhaps delusion) that if people but knew history and facts about how things came to be, they would not continue to hold beliefs that are contrary to fact. I made this decision in spite of Jonothan Swift’s admonition that “It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.”
From the postings on Facebook it seems some Christians are still concerned about somebody trying to take Christ out of Christmas. I don’t know why they are so threatened. As far as I know, every Christian family, every Christian Church, every Christian organization, and every Christian individual is still free to celebrate Christmas as they wish. The only restriction – if it is a restriction – is that Christians as well as any other religious group – may not usurp that which is PUBLIC for their private religious purposes.
Well, if you are interested in my thoughts, and I don’t know why you should be, I refer you back to the 2009 blog if you have not read it recently.
The blog for 2014 is under construction and should be ready to publish by December 21.
