Historically, I have not been someone who pays attention to the solstice, either winter or summer, except for the practical application of when the sun rises in the summer and sets in the winter. Admittedly, I pay little attention to topics such as these, not taking time to learn and/or understand them much less give credence to them. As I am contacting more practitioners in the dying and death vocations, the more I am becoming aware of the spiritual, cultural and practical aspects of life and death and the meaning of tradition, etc. Today I received an email from End Well, a non-profit focused on dying, death and reducing the fear of death and inviting conversation. Their mission includes this statement: “We bring together a community that unites design, technology, health, policy, and activist initiatives to transform how the world thinks about caregiving, grief, illness and the end of life experience with the ultimate goal of creating a future where ending well becomes a measure of living well.” The email included a statement about the winter solstice and how light follows the darkest night. This statement happens to be the third time this week I have heard mention of “light following dark”.
I decided to do a little bit of research into the meaning and traditions surrounding winter solstice. According to Oxford Dictionary, “The solstice that marks the onset of winter, at the time of the shortest day, about December 22 in the northern hemisphere and June 21 in the southern hemisphere.” And, per National Geographic Kids, “The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun. It usually happens on December 21 or 22, at the exact same second around the world.”
These statements speak to me because I tend to live on the pragmatic side of life, and being practical makes me feel safe. However, being curious about the spiritual perspective of winter solstice, I found biblical and pagan commentary around this earth phenomenon.
From Quora – “ex-Christian practicing Pagan”
“[winter solstice] is related in the fact that our pagan gods of the sun die at winter solstice (typically December 21 or 22) and become reborn 3 days later. Aka the celebration stolen by early Christians to become the day that Jesus was born…” and,
From https://www.wellismo.com/how-christianity-stole-the-winter-solstice/
“[winter solstice] is the longest night of the year and starting tomorrow, our days begin to get longer with a few seconds of a sunshine added every day until the summer solstice in June.
https://wifamilycouncil.org/the-winter-solstice-the-light-of-the-world/ From a Christian perspective, as quoted from the site noted above:: “In the midst of all this darkness, the Light of the World entered—and pierced forever the darkness of sin with His forgiveness, love, and redemption. The skies were bright that night with the angels, nearly blinding the shepherds…Brilliant light accompanied the birth of ‘the Light of the World’. Celebrating the birth of our great Savior at the darkest time of our yearly calendar and doing so with lights—lots of lights everywhere—is so very in keeping with the truth of His first coming.”
So, how do these statements fit into a blog about dying and death? Well, as people we love become ill, perhaps suffer pain and depression or deep sadness, regret, etc., we can see a relationship to the darkness. If we view winter solstice as a promise of Spring and death as a promise of our loved one no longer in pain, perhaps the end of suffering and pain, grief and sorrow can be seen as light. Additionally, as we move through our grief, maybe we can move toward the light, or the promise that while we will never stop grieving we will find a way back to joy, even happiness, while we miss those we have lost to death. Perhaps this ‘gift of the sun’ is a ‘triumph of light over dark’, or joy over grief. A true gift indeed.
The December solstice in 2024 falls at 9:21 UTC on December 21 (3:21 a.m. CST). https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice/ Perhaps this could be a day spent in reflection of someone or something you are grieving, knowing the next day will be a bit lighter, and the day after that even lighter, and so on.