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
Happy Solstice Everybody!
2 comments:
The feasting was needed. Farm livestock had to be thinned, as winter's shortage of feed required that only the seed stock be kept alive. So, as with the hunters from which our for-fathers sprung, feasting and gorging was the norm. Putting on winter fat was part of the solstice tradition. DOD
Are you saying that you've stocked the fridge for my visit? :D
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