Winter Solstice: Grief and Rest During a Busy Season

The Winter Solstice is the day when the earth is at its maximum tilt away from the sun in the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in the shortest day of the year and marking the beginning of Winter. On December 21 we begin this new season. This has been celebrated across time and cultures as a celebration of resilience and hope. Ancient works of architecture were designed so that sunlight penetrates the structures, clearly commemorating the light returning after the longest night. 

 I find it to be incongruous that the season in which nature generally enters a time of rest, much of the modern world enters a frantic pace that is often bursting with activity, celebration, and a focus on expending energy and resources. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays associated with winter, but as I get older, I find myself desiring more seasonal alignment even if it is just small shifts away from consumerism and toward gratitude and introspection. 

In addition, many people are grieving significantly around the holidays. Whether it is their first holiday without a loved one, challenges within family dynamics, or depression in place of feeling joyful, the holiday season can bring many confusing and difficult emotions to the surface. I believe this ties directly back to the Winter Solstice. Even if we choose to fully embrace the busyness, the natural world around us is settling in and at some point we will have the opportunity to settle in too. We can embrace the time of resting, inviting in a sense of hibernation as we process the events of the last months and envision what we desire for the coming season. It is a time of turning inward followed by rebirth.