It’s that time again…Christmas… and it comes faster each year as I see it!! It also comes with attendant shopping, semi crazy folk all speeding around as if time can be cheated and holiday makers crowding up the beaches I like to think of as my own!!
It comes with a few silly traditions in this hemisphere too..like a hot Dinner and heavily dressed Santa… the whole thing makes so much more sense in the Northern hemisphere!! It’s cold and the winter has been keeping folk indoors and quiet…Christmas with its long term connections to midwinter and the coming of the sun seems to make sense! The birth of the Christ child is in good sync with the ancient tradition of midwinter and the birth of the Mabon or sun child….the sun is certainly on the wax and with the added warmth and light comes a renewed sense of hope!! But here in the Southern hemisphere we are heading towards Midsummer! The sun is well and truly here!! It is more than warm………so we could begin to think a little differently about our celebrations…
The Summer Solstice is, above all, a celebration to enjoy in the open air and in good company! Feast, dance and enjoy the abundance of nature at this point of the fulfillment of the year, a time when herbs are at their most potent, and when humans can celebrate all their achievement and joys of the year gone by. Midsummer also represents the full turn of the wheel of life…wheels as symbols are good…..making a wheel of some sort is meet….a sand mandala …or use a wreath hoop from a craft shop with everyone in the family adding a symbol of what they give thanks for…..and then hang this on your front door .
Ancient Celts, believe in Litha or the Feast of the Faeries at twilight in midsummer, the gates between the visible and invisible worlds open and faeries enter our world to bring joy, love, prosperity and wisdom to people who welcome them. Its meet to leave a plate of food out for these beings and drizzle this with honey!So Midsummer is about the final harvest of the year and our thankfulness for this.
Hinduism…diwali or festival of lightsmarks the end of the season of harvest in most of India…Traditionally this marked the closing of accounts for businesses dependent on the agrarian cycle, and is the last major celebration before winter. The Goddess Lakshmi symbolizes wealth and prosperity, and her blessings are invoked for a good year ahead. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas or dīpas) in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. This translates to small candles nowadays! During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. Light a hundred candles to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom.
If we add the celebration of the birth of Christ to this then we have even more reason to give thanks….thanks for the harvest of all things good and abundant in our lives and thanks for the continuation of hope…hope for love and compassion and peace across a chaotic and confused world……
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