Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice marks the return of lengthening daylight hours. It typically falls on December 21st of each calendar year. On that calender date the night is at its greatest length in hours.
The Winter Solstice is celebrated in many nations around the globe with feast and ceremonies which often include candles and bonfires to guide and illuminate the way for the sun to return. Traditional foods served on the holiday often contain seeds; in ancient times the Solstice was also associated with both fertility and harvest. Cooked grains and seeded cakes should be part of the holiday meal.
Solstice Sow
On December 21st, please celebrate the Winter Solstice by sowing four sets of seeds. Each separate set of seeds will honor
Remembrance, Life, Mother Nature and Faith.
The first set of seeds are seeds of remembrance and should be seeds of flowers that remind us of someone we knew and loved but who is now gone from our lives forever.
The second set of seeds are seeds of life and should be for plants that will make fruit or nectar and invite birds and butterflies to our gardens.
The third set of seeds should be tree seeds. We can honor Mother Nature by growing trees that will help clean the air we breathe, reduce excess sun on the soil, and provide shade for our heads on a hot summer's day.
The fourth set of seeds are seeds of faith and should be for plants from a zone that is beyond ours in warmth. It will help us to remember that we accept the "Leap of Faith" in our hearts and know that Mother Nature is capable of miracles. I am in zone seven and I will "Solstice Sow" the seeds of faith for plants that are only hardy to zone eight.
I was asked how I chose the four sets of seeds--honestly, I started to type and out it all came in a few moments. There was no second guessing, no editing, no purging or retyping. It was typed once and it was done. I recalled stories from Winter Sowers that have been inspiring. Some stories are heart-breaking and tell of emotional recovery, some speak of reclaiming a garden or tell of creating a new one when there was no money to be spent. Some of these letters provided elements to the four sets of seeds:
Sowing seeds that reminded one of a gardening neighbor from childhood, long gone but still inspiring and cherished in memory.
Returning life to a wilderness that was now silent, its life stolen by a controlled burn that had escaped containment.
Trees for a barren city lot where the sun scorches the soil and there is no shade for anyone and no money to buy trees.
Faith that Mother Nature can perform the miracle of allowing life to be born in a harsh climate and thrive.
The Winter Solstice, its initials the same as Winter Sowing, is a celestial and natural event that ages past became entwined with religious ceremonies all over the world. The Winter holidays allow us to express love and concern through tradition, illumination, shared memories, food and gifts. Sowing the four sets of seeds is a gift to both the planet and ourselves. We give back to the land and its creatures and by doing so we give to ourselves an emotional caress; we have faith in Mother Nature and faith in ourselves.
Tip suggests these links for further study.
Wikipedia.Org
by Janet Shotwell
The Kharma Dzong Banner
Vol III, No 11, December 1991, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Shambhala.Org
Classroom Lessons
Yohkoh Public Outreach Program
Solar Physics
Montana State University
