Winter solstice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dateline ~ Saturday December 21st: This is the longest night of the year, and not yesterday so my apologies for posting enthusiastically early.

For some today’s Winter Solstice is central to their celebrations at this season. To all of them I say, ‘May this Solstice and turning of the Wheel bring you love, peace, and good fortune in the coming year.’

In fact as the days lengthen and the light reduces the night, I repeat that to everyone, wishing you all a wonderful 2014. I realise that not everyone is celebrating tonight or even tomorrow as many are focused on the central day in the Christian calendar, the Birth of Jesus Christ. It is also a family time as well, regardless of the invasion of commercialisation.

And are we forgetting Santa Claus. He will bring joy to many of us, and I will be watching his progress on Christmas Eve with the help of NORAD – http://www.noradsanta.org/.

We mustn’t forget that in other guises Santa has been around since before Christ. There are pagan traditions such as those surrounding Odin and also the Holly King – http://www.paganspath.com/magik/yule-history2.htm – which lend a richness to our culture, if we look. Saint Nicholas ensured that the gifts were passed on to Christians, and Santa continued to evolve, although the roots will always be there.

http://www.annestokes.com/

There are others still to whom the central day in their spiritual calendar has either passed or is a little way ahead. Yet I can still wish them all the awesome best for the season ahead, and the year about to unfold, whether they share our calendar or another.

Perhaps there are others out there – you know who you are – who will be using the excuse of more sunshine to dust off their bike shorts. They too have their celebration, whatever their true belief. Ho ho ho, and definitely not humbug.

So Happy Yule and seasonal blessings to you all.

For me this shortest day of the year began with the timely discovery of this wonderful poem: http://janedougherty.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/a-christmas-wish/

It continued with watching entranced as the characters from two worlds met in France, sharing their thoughts on why this season is of great significance: http://ailsaabraham.com/2013/12/20/guests-for-yule-and-gifts/

As I draw to a close, I need to point the way to another deeper look at the Solstice and its rich history at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/12/a-blessed-solstice-3.html

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net