I attended a Winter Solstice party at a stranger’s house when I lived in Vermont. Frankly, it was one of the more Vermont-y things I did while there — second only to repeatedly talking to people about the laborious undertaking of making maple syrup. By the time the Solstice and the official beginning of winter rolled around, the season had already turned cold and snowy, and I made one of the biggest clothing purchases of my life to help combat the Vermont winter ahead.
My friend lived a couple of doors down from the young woman throwing the party, and together, we tromped through the snow to stand around a fire and celebrate the shortest day and longest night of the year. The other party-goers and I talked a lot about boots — comparing whose feet were coldest as we stood in the snow around a ring of fire. What we didn’t do was talk about the ancient human ritual we were all partaking in, combatting the cold winter and dark nights ahead by celebrating the solstice and the slow but inevitable return of the sun.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about that otherwise not-very-memorable night. You see, the day after Thanksgiving, I pulled my Christmas decorations out as usual. We put up the fake tree that’s been in the family for generations and started testing the lights, and that was when the frustration began. Strings of lights that worked one moment suddenly wouldn't come on. We changed bulbs and fuses. I even got my brother, an electrician, involved at one point. Ultimately, I put a string of lights that was only half-working on the tree — luckily, the tree is kind of puny, and it appears fully lit. But this struggle with a few strings of old lights got me thinking about the role of lights during the winter holidays.
Across countries and cultures, holidays that take place during the last quarter of the year put a big emphasis on light. From Diwali lanterns and Halloween jack-o-lanterns to menorahs at Hannukah and the bright lights of Christmas, we all turn to sources of light when things get dark.
This is, of course, most obvious in Christmas celebrations — many of the traditions of which owe a lot to the Pagan celebrations of Yule. Pagans throughout history brought evergreen trees or boughs into their homes to celebrate Yuletide. (Can you even imagine how magical these firs, pines, and cedars must have seemed to ancient people as the rest of the landscape went gray?) This Pagan celebration of the sun's return, which is held on the Winter Solstice, often incorporates fires and other lights.
While the Pagan roots of Christmas trees are easy to see, Germans are often credited with beginning the modern Christmas tree tradition as far back as the 16th century. The Germans may have started decorating the trees, but "It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. According to a common version of the story, walking home one winter evening, Luther was awed by the stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles."
However we got here, lights continue to play a big role in our most important winter celebrations. Here in Stafford, the Garden Club and the Department of Public Works festoon the lamp posts with lighted snowflakes and lanterns. We light up a tree in Haymarket Common, and many of us decorate our houses. If you live on Magauran Drive, you may do more than string a few lights around your front door.
On New Year’s Eve, people across the globe will celebrate by lighting up the sky with fireworks or dropping a lighted ball. And though it may be hard to tell, the days will get slightly longer. Slowly, the skies will grow a little lighter on your evening commute, and before you know it, you’ll be looking at your watch, wondering what time it is because it couldn’t possibly be six o’clock and still light out. But before that, we’ll have to take down our decorative lights and return to living by boring old lamp lights instead of the charming twinkle of a Christmas tree. If you’re anything like me, though, you may leave the timed lights on the bush by your side door because you always forget to turn on the porch light when you leave and then have to fumble with your keys in the dark when you get home.
Anyway, today is December 21, the Winter Solstice. The sun will be gone before you know it, and no matter our family traditions or beliefs, we’ll all be lighting up the night with lamps, lanterns, candles, and twinkle lights. Maybe some of us will light a fire in a wood stove or backyard, continuing the time-honored tradition of raging against the literal dying of the light. No matter how you choose to celebrate, have a blessed Yule.
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