Today is the Winter Solstice. We are so far away from the sun and the day is so very short… and so we light candles.
In my family, as a way of countering the commercial behemoth that the Christmas season has become, we’ve chosen to mark the solstice. When the sun sets, we answer the darkness with the light of a single candle. From that candle we light others, passing along the flame and filling our home with its gentle glow. It’s a way of reminding ourselves that in the darkness there is light and there is hope. We have each other and even the darkest night will end.
We dance ever slower as the leaves fall and spin
And the sound of the Horn is the wailing of the wind;
The Earth is wrapped in stillness and we move in a trance,
but we hold on fast to our faith in the dance.
The sun is in the south and the days lengthen fast,
And soon we’ll sing for the winter that is past,
Now we light the candles and rejoice as they burn,
and Dance the dance of the sun’s return.
They cut me down, but I leap up high!
I am life that will never, never die.
I’ll live in you and you’ll live in me —
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he!
Prints are available at Ali Crehan Photography.
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