Celebrate The Light

You know what today is, don't you? It's the last day of The Dark. It's also known as The Shortest Day of the Year. Starting tomorrow there will be a little more daylight each day, till we get to the glorious Longest Day of the Year in June.

I love the sun. I think I whine on Winter Solstice every year. It makes complete sense to me that my ancestors who dwelled in those far northern latitudes of Scandinavia developed a series of superstitions and celebrations that involved candles and lighting big fires this time of year. If we didn't celebrate Christmas this time of year we'd have to invent it...like they did.

Some purists complain that many of the traditions we use each year for the celebration of Christ's birth are really based on pagan ritual. Duh. When Christian missionaries made their way north and found all those societies that held a big party during the winter, the missionaries were no dummies. They just introduced a new meaning to the celebrations. Gentle persuasion is often more effective than force. After all, they were representing The Prince of Peace. They just took all those traditions that celebrated the return of the light and created a new celebration for The Light of the World.

Anyway, I'm pleased to be at this point of the year-- both for the end of the physical darkness and for the opportunity to rejoice with the angels that Eternal Light has come to earth to banish the metaphysical darkness forever.