Saturday, December 21, 2013

Winter Soltice

Jack Frost decorated as only he can in preparation for this, the shortest day of the year.

The Shortest Day

“And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.”
~Susan Cooper

We are in the midst of Christmas preparations.  
I just lit the Christmas tree,
 some candles, 
and I sit in anticipation of the arrival 
of my daughter and her children.
We plan to "drive the dark away" 
by eating pizza,
visiting the Broadmoor to ohh and ahh 
over the fancy decorations
and beautiful lights.
We'll drink a bit of hot chocolate, I'm sure.
Maybe, when we get home,
we'll make a few cookies.  

Tonight, 
 we will give thanks,
and hope for peace
as we celebrate this, the shortest day of the year.  



I hope all is well with you and yours as Christmas fast approaches.




26 comments:

  1. I hope you have a Merry Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope you have a lovely evening. I recall the Broadmoor from my youth in Colorado. Lovely place so I'm certain their light display is as well. Enjoy your Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely pieces, both.

    It's not feeling like Solstice or Christmas here -- we're at 72°; all of the snow has melted and we worked in the garden today. I did notice, though, that darkness came very early.

    Nameste, K

    ReplyDelete
  4. We made cookies today too…and then I turned on the BBQ to cook steaks for dinner. I refuse to give up grilled food just because we've got a little snow!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Our Christmas will not be a white one...everything has melted!!!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful pictures! And a very Merry Christmas season to you as well. Sending you big hugs. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wishing you, your husband, Boston-the-dog, and your family a lovely Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The day with the least light deserves to be brightened by the glow of love from our dear ones.
    Hope you have a warm, wonderful time with your family.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful Sally. And wishing your and your a joyous holiday season. Take care....:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oops and I forgot to mention I've switched my book review etc. blog over to the original Troutbirder.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the picture at the top, and this post. May your holidays be bright enough to light your way through the rest of the winter. You are a huge light in my life, and I'm so very grateful for you. Love to you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It all sounds wonderful, Sally! I hope you and your family have a loving, warm, fun and truly blessed Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting Atlantic piece on the shortest day of the year: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/the-astronomical-hijinks-of-the-shortest-day-of-the-year/282109/?fb_action_ids=10100873125995303&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=feed_opengraph&action_object_map={%2210100873125995303%22%3A765169740165543}&action_type_map={%2210100873125995303%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map=[]

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the poem. As a descendant of Swedes and Norwegians and Germans, I feel the ancestral pull on this day, a day that was so meaningful to peoples of the north country.

    ReplyDelete
  15. May your whole season be blessed with love and laughter. Your post was a gift, in keeping with your special spirit of giving. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Love the poem and frosted trees. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Another beautiful post Sally. Love the poem. We are being buffeted by gale force winds and torrential rain. I wish you and your family a very happy and joyful Christmas. Sending hugs and blessings your way.

    ReplyDelete
  18. A beautiful poem to share. We are experiencing our weirdest Christmas ever -- it will clearly be one we can never forget, including a mega ice storm and lots of folks with no power!

    Merriest of Merries to you. I'm so very glad we connected online!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sally, I don't think my other comment took so I just wanted to say Meerry Christmas and thanks for sharing the perfect poem. We're having our weirdest Christmas ever here, including an ice storm. We won't forget it, that's for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I can hardly believe it's already Christmas Eve. Everything seems to pile together at this time of year. It was dark here today when we went to the Farmers Market and we needed a flashlight. It would have been an extra quiet Christmas for us since the family won't convene until after the new year. However, my brother and nephew said they can come over for dinner so it will be a little more special.

    Have a very wonderful Christmas and New Year with your beautiful family, Sally!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Happy holidays to you and your family. May this year bring blessings galore!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Lovely, Sally. I'm late coming to this, so I do hope you had a happy and peaceful Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It was a lovely day here. Thanks for the lovely words and the beautiful images.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Already I've noticed the days are longer--it's only a few minutes, I know, but just that short added time makes me happy that brighter days are ahead. I hope you had a Merry Christmas, Sally, and wishing you the best in the coming New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I hope your Christmas was merry and that the new year will be a happy one for you and your family. Stay warm as I hear there is a very cold front coming up, even down here in the South. Thanks for coming to my blog in 2013. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog. I love reading your comments. Comments are moderated by the author of this blog. It may take a short delay for your comment to be published. No anonymous comments are published, nor are comments that are offensive to myself or other readers.