Question About Solstice?
Yeah, I could Google or Wiki it, but I’d rather ask those that actually celebrate it:
1. What does it mean to you?
2. How do you celebrate?
3. Do you celebrate other holidays taken over by other religions, like Christmas and Easter? If so, is this just Winter/Spring Solstice for you, or do you celebrate them separately?
4. Is there a set list of things you "should" or "should not" do? What traditions are tied into it, and do you follow them? Why or why not?
I ask because I realized that Winter Solstice was approaching, and I recalled a woman who came into a store I was working at looking for a colon cleanser to celebrate Spring Solstice. Seemed like an interesting idea, to cleanse one’s body…but seemed also like this was the first time it dawned on her. I wished her a happy Solstice and was forever interested.
Thanks for your answers, namaste and peace be with you.
"Punky" – Why’s that?
Shadow: Who do you pray to, and what is the prayer for?
Tagged with: christmas • colon cleanser • google • holidays • namaste • peace • prayer • religions • solstice • spring solstice • traditions • winter solstice • winter spring
Filed under: How To Cleanse Your Colon
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My family are originally from Devon and we apple wassail too. It is a very old tradition I think going back to 1200. We eat the 12th night cake but I thought it was to do with advent. Perhaps the 12 days of Christmas, starting with Christmas Day and finish with the eve of Epiphany on 5th January? Anyway we apple wassail on the shortest day too.
We only chose the most productive apple tree to bless. We sing apple wassailing songs and that tree represents all the trees and other animals. It is the king or queen tree of the orchard and is crowned with apple cake, toast and splashed with cider. We have a candle lit procession back to the house where we drink cider, hot mulled wine and 12th night cake. The cake is divided into two halves when it is made and a pea is put in one half and a bean in the other half before it is baked. The top of each half is decorated with slices of apple and a pea on the ladies side and a bean on the gents side. The lady who gets the pea is the queen of apple wassailing, the king is the man who gets the bean.
When the king and queen is decided they lead the procession to the neighbours’ houses. The King carries a bowl of cider, the Queen carries a bowl of hot mulled wine which are offered to guests. The guests can then join the candle lit procession back to the orchard where after the king and queen bless the king or queen tree with cider, they shoot air rifles into the air to scare off evil spirits, then we have a bonfire party. The King and Queen decide on the games and make the other guests do silly things or party pieces.
Solstice hey? That’s a good time to plant garlic.
1) The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. It represents the end of the coming darkness.
2) I probably won’t really celebrate much, a prayer and maybe a candle.
3) I celebrate Christmas and Easter, more as cultural than as a religious thing. The celebrations are separate (such as they are).
4) I don’t follow any specific tradition, my path is my own. I’ll follow my own ways.
Hey, not knowing the details of the woman who came in, possibly she came in with that in mind because spring is renewal. Many cultures celebrate spring as their new year.
However, there is winter and summer solstice which is when there is the longest night and the longest day (opposite of course on the other hemisphere so Australia, New Zealand, Chile, etc are about to have their summer solstice) and then there is the spring and autumnal equinox which is when day is equal with night.
I celebrate Solstice instead of the other winter holidays because I am not religious but I am spiritual and because a bad relationship destroyed the secular appeal of them as well. So, I guess that’s the why and part of what it means to me. I also find that the winter solstice is the day I look forward to most in the year because that marks the day when the light begins to return again to the afternoon. It’s the bright side of winter.
Most of the people I know who do celebrate it don’t have any set things to do or not which is part of the appeal. It’s a freeing event. It’s hard to explain but it’s about respect as well. Honoring. Doing what feels correct not what others say must be done and how.
Other holidays? No, not so much. That’s part of the freeing of recognizing Solstice is that one reevaluates the other parts of one’s life and that includes things done just because they’ve always been done. Funny, all I can think of at the moment is an Eddie Izzard bit about Easter:
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‘Cause Jesus I do think did exist, and he was, I think, a guy who had interesting ideas in the Gandhi-type area, in the Nelson Mandela-type area, you know, relaxed and groovy; and the Romans thought, "Relaxed and groovy?! No, no, no, no, no!" So they murdered him. And kids eat chocolate eggs, because of the color of the chocolate, and the color of the… wood on the cross. Well, you tell me! It’s got nothing to do with it, has it? You know, people going, "Remember, kids," the kids who’re eating the chocolate eggs:
"Jesus died for your sins."
"Yeah, I know, it’s great!"
"No, no no, it’s bad, it’s bad!"
" No, it’s bad! It’s very bad. It’s terrible! Whatever you want, just keep giving me these eggs."
And the bunny rabbits! Where do they come into the crucifixion? There were no bunny rabbits up on the hill going, "Hey, what, are you going to put those crosses in our warrens? We live below this hill, all right?" Bunny rabbits are for shagging, eggs are for fertility. It’s a festival – it’s the spring festival!
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Pretty much sums it up for me.
We apple wassail late afternoon on the shortest day; December 21. Apple Wassailing usually takes place on the 6th of January (12th night) I understand, but it is celebrated at different times throughout the Christmas period in different areas.
There are different forms of wassailing, we only Apple Wassail.
It is a celebration and a thank you to the Apple trees and the fruit, in the hope that they apple trees will be healthy and will bear fruit again the following year. We bless the apple trees with songs and chants. We make a lot of noise to ward off ‘evil spirits’ this was traditionally done by banging pots and pans. We then hang cider soaked slices of toast in the tree branches. The roots of the trees are given a blessing with cider.
The apple trees represent the whole of the natural world, all plants, animals and other living things. By blessing the apple trees we are celebrating and giving thanks to the natural world and for all that the natural world has provided the past year and hoping that it will continue to do so the following year. We carry candle lanterns and return to the house to a roaring wood stove, where we celebrate with cider and baked apple pie, apple cake, cheeses and apples.
Our children (teenagers) love Apple Wassailing, they look forward to it more than Christmas day. It is really connecting and poignant for them as they helped to plant the apple trees several years ago and are growing with them. It is very grounding too, it makes us feel connected to the earth and natural world. It is easy in winter when the weather is cold and the nights are long to forget to appreciate the miracle of nature. I don’t know if it is the cider or the wassailing but the rosy stored apples look particularly delicious and beautiful when they are brought out for the feast on Apple Wassailing day.
A great site here all about wassailing:
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5567/applewass.html
I do not do much in the way of celebrating the summer and winter solstices. But I do know it is the spring (vernal) EQUINOX, not solstice. Same with Fall, the autumnal equinox is different than the solstices.
Equinox = equal day and night length. Solstices are either longest or shortest days of the year (depending on which solstice and which hemisphere you are talking about)