The Calm Before the Storm
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Winter Solstice and Christmas this week, imagining what it would have been like to celebrate seasonal festivals in the past before electricity and central heating disturbed our circadian rhythms (and made life much more comfortable). Back then, these festivals must have been so much more important to our day-to-day lives. Real, solid milestones we clung to as we monkey-barred our way around the Wheel of the Year. Can you imagine how much warmer the early spring sunlight must have felt after months exposed to the cold?
For most of my life, I’ve been a huge lover of Christmas, and I do still love it very much. But when I experienced pre- and postnatal depression, it sucked the joy out of Christmas for the first time, and I’ve never really managed to fully get it back. On reflection, though, I’ve also realised how much more I now love Samhain. Both Dave and I feel more aligned with it, and when I think of which seasonal milestone I feel most comforted by, it’s definitely Samhain and the flourishing of autumn.
But as I said, I do still love Christmas - and it’s true what they say about how having children reignites all the festive magic. The Winter Solstice (celebrated on 21st December) is a lovely way to enjoy the calm before the storm - a moment of peace on the shortest day, before we are engulfed by wrapping paper and sprouts. But it’s interesting to observe how we all respond to the different seasons, because almost all of us will admit to loving one more than the others. Some dread the arrival of autumn, while others find summer unsettling. Part of seasonal living is allowing yourself to feel the way you do as the year progresses, without the need to force particular moods or behaviours.
Before I go, I wanted to share this beautiful, simple letter from Wendy Padley about embracing the darkness, which I really enjoyed. Have a lovely solstice week!