Winter Solstice

"A" has had many questions this year about Winter Solstice and why our house isn't decorated like the other houses in our neighborhood (for the full story about our family's holiday celebration see last year's blog post). We have several books about the Solstice that we have been reading to her; two of my favorites are: The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice and A Solstice Tree for Jenny.

These books have really helped her to understand what Solstice is (click to read National Geographic article) and why we have decided to have this holiday be our family's big winter celebration, instead of Christmas (although we will be going up to be with her grandparents for Christmas).  Her teachers at school have been wonderful and have been changing Christmas songs to include the word "Solstice" and have been asking "A" questions about our traditions. A couple weeks ago, before it was even December, "A" looked around at all of the lights and decorations going up around our neighborhood and said that we needed to start decorating for Solstice. Our new tradition this year is.........

The Solstice Ficus!

"A" immediately went to work making ornaments for the tree (marker drawings, cut out and taped to individual leaves). We also made several ornaments using one of my favorite new mediums: milk jug plastic) and fishing line. It looks AWESOME :)

The Winter Solstice is on the 22nd this year and you'll find us eating Beer and Cheese soup on Solstice Eve, yelling "SUN SUN SUN" outside at the moment of the sunrise on Solstice Day, eating Crepes with fresh fruit and whipped cream, opening presents, eating a Caribbean themed dinner, and lighting and floating tea light candles in the Solstice bowl (big candle, surrounded by water and little rocks) while saying what we're grateful for from the past year and making wishes for the coming year.

These are all traditions that we made up over the last 5 years, but in reading the Solstice books we've discovered that some of them really aren't that original. People long ago, celebrating the Solstice, would cheer and yell at the sunrise and light candles to bring light into the home during the darkest/shortest day.

I love our holiday more and more every year. It is so important to us that our girls learn about diversity and the fact that not everyone in this world celebrates Christmas (even though it definitely seems like it around here). "A" asked someone the other day if they celebrate Christmas; I wish others would learn to do the same and not assume that every child will be "trying to be good for Santa" and "getting so excited for Christmas morning". Some kids are good because that's just who they are (not just to please the bearded guy in the red suit) and my own kids have another day that they are much more excited for!