Celebrations marking the winter solstice

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At 7:27 p.m. local time on Dec. 21, the 2023 winter solstice takes place. At that time the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. In the Northern Hemisphere winter begins and in the Southern Hemisphere spring turns to summer. 

In ancient times the winter solstice (Yule) was celebrated in the north. After short days and long nights the earth changes axis and the Northern Hemisphere would again tilt toward the sun. The solstice is often referred to as the rebirth of the sun because the daylight hours lengthen and hours of darkness shorten.

History.com states that many cultures around the world hold feasts and celebrate holidays around the winter solstice. Fire and light are traditional symbols of celebrations held on the longest night of the year. It suggests humans might have observed the winter solstice as early as the Neolithic period—the last part of the Stone Age, beginning about 10,200 B.C.E.

Neolithic monuments such as Newgrange in Ireland and Maeshowe in Scotland are aligned with sunrise on the winter solstice. Some archaeologists have theorized that these tomb-like structures served a religious purpose in which Stone Age people held rituals to capture the sun on the year’s shortest day.

Celebrations around the world

History.com tells of different ways the winter solstice is celebrated around the world.

The ancient Norsemen of Scandinavia celebrated Yule from the winter solstice through January.

In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which became known as Yule logs. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days.

Dong Zhi (Winter Arrives) is the Chinese celebration of the winter solstice. It welcomes the return of longer days and an increase in positive energy in the year to come.

In Japan, Toji, the winter solstice, is less a festival than a traditional practice centered on starting the new year with health and good luck. It’s a particularly sacred time for farmers, who welcome the return of a sun that will nurture their crops after the long, cold winter. People light bonfires to encourage the sun’s return. Large bonfires burn on Mount Fuji each Dec. 22.

Shab-e Yalda (Night of Birth) is the Iranian festival marking the longest night of the year. The celebration springs out of ancient Zoroastrian traditions and customs intended to protect people from evil spirits. During Shab-e Yalda Iranians all over the world celebrate the triumph of the sun god Mithra over darkness. 

Friends and family join in making wishes, feasting on nuts, pomegranates and other foods, and reading poetry, especially the work of 14th-century Persian poet Hafiz. Some stay awake all night to rejoice in the moment when the sun rises, banishing evil and announcing the arrival of goodness.

Among Native American traditions, the Zuni of western New Mexico mark the winter solstice with a ceremonial dance called Shalako, as a way to greet the beginning of a new year.

After fasting, prayer and observing the rising and setting of the sun for several days before the solstice, the Pekwin, or “Sun Priest” traditionally announces the exact moment of itiwanna, the rebirth of the sun, with a long, mournful call.

With that signal, the rejoicing and dancing begin, as 12 kachina clowns in elaborate masks dance along with the Shalako themselves—12-foot-high effigies with bird heads, seen as messengers from the gods. After four days of dancing, new dancers are chosen for the following year, and the cycle begins again.

Like the Zuni, the Hopi of Northern Arizona celebrate the winter solstice with a similar ritual. In their celebration of Soyal, the Sun Chief takes on the duties of the Zuni Pekwin, announcing the setting of the sun on the solstice. An all-night ceremony then begins, including kindling fires, dancing and sometimes gift-giving.

The Inca Empire paid homage to the sun god Inti at a winter solstice celebration called Inti Raymi (Quechua for “sun festival”). In Peru, like the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, the winter solstice takes place in June.

The Incas fasted for three days before the solstice. Before dawn on the day of solstice, they went to a ceremonial plaza and waited for the sunrise. When it appeared, they crouched down before it, offering golden cups of chicha (a sacred beer made from fermented corn). Animals were sacrificed during the ceremony, and Incas used a mirror to focus the sun’s rays and kindle a fire.

According to rovoloon.com, many traditional Christmas decorations and customs have their origin in European solstice celebrations. 

For example, holly leaves are said to symbolize the Holly King and hope, while the prickliness is said to offer protection to any home by warding off negative energy and evil spirits.

Then there is mistletoe. Frigg, Norse goddess of fertility, sex, and love, is paramount in the tradition of kissing underneath the mistletoe at this time of year. To protect her son, Baldr, she made every plant and animal promise they would not bring harm to him but forgot mistletoe. 

Baldr was eventually killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. When he was later resurrected, Frigg kissed all of her friends with joy and made the mistletoe plant sacred.

Candles act as a symbol of the sun and his warmth and light. They represent eternal flame indoors and bring that energy and light of the sun into your home.

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