Today is the day of the winter solstice, the time of year when the sun stands still. The winter solstice, which occurs on either December 21 or 22, marks the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year.
The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the solstice. Hence the origin of the word solstice, which comes from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and -stitium, "a stoppage." Following the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.
[ref: infoplease.com]
Humans have been observing and celebrating the winter solstice for thousands of years. Ancient cultures the world over built tombs, temples, henges, and other structures to align with the sun, marking the solstices and equinoxes.
No one's really sure how long ago humans recognized the winter solstice and began heralding it as a turning point — the day that marks the return of the sun.
Many, many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root: an ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration.[ Candlegrove.com ]
Stonehenge is one of the best known of the henges, marking both the Summer and Winter solstices. Fewer people are familiar with Newgrange, a > 5000-year-old "passage tomb" in Ireland, built to receive a shaft of sunlight deep into its central chamber at dawn on winter solstice. Rich and I visited Newgrange, when we were in Ireland in 1987. It was … impressive.
In many cultures, customs practiced at this time of year go back far into pre-Christian times. Christmas was overlaid onto the winter solstice celebration approximately 1,600 years ago. The candles, holly, miseltoe, fir boughs, pine trees, feasting, and singing go back much farther.
Slightly Off KIlter 