December: Darkness and Light

Yesterday afternoon we were driving back from a trip to the city and we were treated to a clearing sky and a most spectacular sunset as we travelled west. The time was about 4:30pm. I found myself pondering December's early evening darkness as we near the winter solstice, this year in North America on December 21st. The winter solstice is often called "the shortest day of the year" in the Northern hemisphere for it is the day of least daylight and earliest sunset. The winter solstice has long been considered a special time and major festivals including Christmas and Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, are celebrated near this date. In pre-Christian times the winter solstice was a time of magic, and many customs and traditions of today go back to that time. For Christians, the four weeks prior to Christmas are called Advent, and are often marked by the lighting of candles in an Advent wreath. Whether one is religious or not, this is the time of year for Christmas lights. Yesterday, we stopped for supper and arrived home to our neighbourhood, now lit by many Christmas light displays, some quite elaborate. It seemed not only joyful and anticipatory, but somehow, too, brave and magical.