A short message for the shortest day
Published: Fri, 12/21/18
This is my favourite day of the year. Not that I am doing anything particularly exciting myself. I will be catching a train to London later this morning and spending the weekend visiting my mother who has now moved into a nursing home. I will also be catching up with my bother and sister and their families as well as sorting out my mother’s affairs. On Sunday I will catch a train and meet up with Ventia again for Christmas itself.
So, what is special about today? Well, if you don’t know already, today is the shortest day of the year with the least daylight between sunrise and sunset. Here in Beverley that means less than seven and a half hours of sunlight, if the sky were not already covered in rain clouds. Even in Epsom, where I am heading later, today is only 20 minutes longer. So, why is my favourite day the shortest? And, since we are in late December, probably cold and wet, as is indeed the case? Simply because from today onwards everyday starts to get a little bit longer as we head towards spring and another summer. Over the next few weeks there will be cold and difficult weather. It will be a while before the increased daylight becomes noticeable but by February there will be signs of new life all around and before we know it the trees will be green again and we will be enjoying early sunrises and light evenings.
As you are no doubt aware today is the winter solstice, literally meaning ‘sun standing still’ before the days get longer again and the sun ascends higher and higher in the sky each mid day. Some modern people look back at ‘primitive peoples’ and their beliefs about the demise and rebirth of the sun. We sometimes consider ourselves more sophisticated about the changing days because we like to think we understand Astronomy. Truth is that people have observed and been able to calculate the movements of the heavenly bodies for thousands of years. It seems that many ancient monuments were built in order to align with the cycles of the sun, other stars and planets and of course our moon. Either way, the precise gravitational workings of a whole solar system, demonstrated millennia after millennia, is pretty amazing to my mind. And, no one knows what gravity actually is or can explain what causes it. Yet, it is this mysterious force
which holds our whole universe in balance. Modern man may have observed more of the workings of the universe than our ancestors using more advanced technology. Hoever, we have no more understanding than they did of the fundamental principle behind these workings. Theories maybe, but no actual answer that I am aware of.
One thing I am sure of though is that in half a year it will be the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and then it all goes downhill again. However, I am also pretty sure that if you join us in Norfolk for the Runes and Trees retreat at midsummer next year, you will have a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Baldervaki or Summer Solstice with us while learning a lot and having a great deal of fun. Check it out at http://rr.stavcamp.org/
Have good winter festival season whether that is Yule today or Christmas next week.
regards
Graham