Winter Solstice. It’s the darkest day of the year. A turning point, when we begin to see the lengthening of days. Renewal and rebirth. A connection to the timeless earth and infinite spirit of life.
Although it occurs right smack in the middle of the Christmas season, I’ve been drawn to the idea of a Winter Solstice celebration, seeing the rich symbolism of light, the connection to Mother Earth, and an absence of preconceived ideas and expectations that I already hold for other celebrations this time of year. For me, Solstice represents an opportunity to create a meaningful tradition for myself and my family – it can be anything we want it to be.
But I wonder, how do I “create” a new tradition for my family? Traditions are not made, they become. They evolve when a person, or a family, finds meaning and beauty in the repetition of the observance. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right?
So we planned a Solstice dinner made of symbolic ingredients, eaten by candlelight, shared with another like-minded family with an interest in this “new” holiday. Well, icy snowy roads kept our friends from coming, but we made our dinner, dimmed the lights, and enjoyed a warm family dinner to celebrate the darkest night of the year.
Solstice Supper
- Roasted Vegetable Soup: Butternut Squash, Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips, Leeks, Onion, Thyme, Rosemary and Bay Leaves
- Rosemary Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Walnut Muffins
…And the symbolism behind it (which I picked up from this article about another family’s Solstice ritual)
- Rosemary is for remembering favorite highlights of the year
- Bay leaves cleanse the unsettling events of the past year
- Apple symbolizes love – for each other and for the earth
- Walnuts are wishes for the coming year
- A centerpiece of evergreens and a candle are for resilience and light
I realize that you can’t force tradition to happen, and I think overloading on symbolism and spirituality could mean certain death for a fledgling family ritual (speaking for my family anyway). So we didn’t make too big a deal out of it all – just lit our candle, talked a little about the darkest night and the coming longer days, and then got down to the eating. I did get Casey to eat half of a walnut (which he was meticulously picking out of his muffin) so he could make a wish.
Besides the fact that I realized after finishing the grocery shopping that we had no bay leaves (we just pretended they were in there…). And, oh, that we actually had our celebration on December 20 instead of the 21st (for logistical reasons…). And oh, oh, that we watched the Ravens game on NFL.com while we ate (planning new traditions during football season requires give and take…), I thought it was lovely. And I look forward to next year when maybe we do it again – add some friends, subtract some snow, mix in a few other elements perhaps?
We’ll see how our Solstice ritual evolves.
