For those of us in the northern hemisphere this is a day well worth celebrating. Today marks the shortest day of the year. Or, to put it another way, from here until summer every day will be a little bit longer, there will be a little bit more light, and eventually the days will get warmer and we will have spring.
Hopefully many of you purchased a therapy light this winter. The truth is, however, that no matter how “full spectrum,” artificial light doesn’t seem to be quite as good as natural light at lifting us out of a sense of lethargy or even depression.
Join me in celebrating the Winter Solstice which is perhaps the most universal (across almost all northern hemisphere cultures) celebration in the world.
- Influenced by the Ancient Greek Lenaia festival, Brumalia was an ancient Roman solstice festival honoring Bacchus, generally held for a month and ending December 25.
- The Winter Solstice Festival or The Extreme of Winter (Chinese and Japanese: 冬至; Korean: 동지; Vietnamese: Đông chí).
- Christmas is observed on December 25, which was the Roman winter solstice upon establishment of the Julian Calendar.
- Derived from a pre-Zoroastrian festival, Shab-e Chelleh is celebrated on the eve of the first day of winter in the Persian calendar, which always falls on the solstice. Yalda is the most important non-new-year Iranian festival in modern-day Iran and it has been long celebrated in Iran by all ethnic/religious groups.