Recipe: Celebrate Solstice - The Green Parent (2024)

FAQs

What is winter solstice answers? ›

Question: How many times does the winter solstice happen each year? Answer: The winter solstice is the two moments during the year when the path of the Sun in the sky is farthest south in the Northern Hemisphere (December 21 or 22) and farthest north in the Southern Hemisphere (June 20 or 21).

Samhain: Pumpkins, squash, and various root vegetables that were recently harvested form the basis of our seasonal foods at Samhain–especially pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin bread.

Forms of celebration vary and include (but are of course not limited to) the following: burning rosemary or incense, adorning the home with sacred herbs, reading tarot cards, building an altar, and taking salt baths to release toxins.

The solstice (combining the Latin words sol for “Sun” and sistere for “To Stand Still”) is the point where the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest point in the sky for the year and thus ancient astronomers came to know the day as one where the Sun appeared to stand still.

Create an altar with items that bring you joy and peace, and surround it with candles. Light the candles as a symbol of the sun's ability to give us both life and light. Wake up early on the day of the winter solstice to watch the sunrise. Close your eyes, and feel the sun's warmth on your face.

On December 22, countless Chinese families will gather for a hearty winter solstice dinner which serves up many delicious dishes, each bearing a different lucky meaning to its name. The winter solstice is the shortest day, or the longest night of the year.

Yule will be celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice. For Pagans, the shortest day of the year marks the end of the descent into darkness and the beginning of the return of the light as the days begin to get longer after the solstice.

- Avoid much food ...from Winter Solstice to the New Year, remember not to eat and drink too much. The Yang energy has been the weakest and can't digest that much food. - Avoid the cold ... due to the weaker immunity at this time, dress up warm when stepping out to avoid catching a cold.

In Italian folklore, La Befana is a goddess who rides around the world on her broom during the solstice, leaving candies and gifts to well-behaved children. Placing a rag doll in her likeness by the front door or window entices her into the home.

What do Wiccans call Christmas? ›

The meaning of Yule

The term “Yule” comes from the ancient Germanic festival held in the final days of December. Neo-pagans have taken this name and given it to the celebration of Winter Solstice. “Happy Yule!” one would say, rather than “Merry Christmas!” Winter Solstice is the shortest and darkest day of the year.

Feasting, time with friends and family gathered around the fire burning yule logs, and decorating with holly and mistletoe - All of these traditions trace their roots back to Celtic winter solstice traditions.

Give the Gift of Nature

We think of the holidays as a time for gift-giving, but that custom actually began with the Winter Solstice. Get back to the tradition's roots by exchanging small, earth-y gifts, like seedlings, herbal teas, or candles.

The Pagan celebration of Winter Solstice (also known as Yule) is one of the oldest winter celebrations in the world. The celebration of Winter Solstice takes place on the shortest day and longest night of the year.

But the most well-known symbol of the Winter Solstice is perhaps the Christmas tree, “the tree of rebirth and immortality, New Year and fresh beginnings, the Tree of Paradise of lights and gifts, shining by night.” And speaking of why we decorate it, “each light is a soul and the lights also represent the sun, moon and ...

The Winter Solstice, or the December Solstice, is the point at which the path of the sun in the sky is farthest south. At the Winter Solstice, the sun travels the shortest path through the sky resulting in the day of the year with the least sunlight and therefore, the longest night.

Since prehistory, the winter solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures and has been marked by festivals and rites. It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun; the gradual waning of daylight hours is reversed and begins to grow again.

The Solstices (Summer & Winter)

For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.

December 21st ± 2 days (due to leap year) What is the winter solstice? The point at which the sun reaches it's maximum distance south of the celestial equator.