The Contented Naturalist

A friend of mine, Shane (of Mythical Masks), recently came up with an idea for a 12 Days of Solstice celebration, similar to 12 days of Christmas. I have copied some of his suggestions below and added or revised for my own visions as well.

I want to note that for each day, the activities listed wouldn’t have to take the whole day. They could, or could at least be the main theme of the day, but could also just be a short focus time. I know many people will still have to work on most if not all of these days. Each celebration can still be done before or after work and any other responsibilities. Ideally we’d all magically have the entire twelve days off of work and school, but then who would staff the hospitals, parks, places of worship, stores? An hour or two outside of the work day could still retain that magical feel of time out of time, I hope.

Dec 20th: Solstice Eve

Longest Night Observed. Candle Night. The traditional hymn “One Small Candle” is sung, or any candle-themed song of your choice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J02mGiWY_Ho

A tradition of turning off electric lights. Drawing into the home. Small gifts of clothes/comfort items. (Slippers, PJs, etc.) that are night related. This night is when I like to think about my year’s accomplishments, lessons, what I want to carry forward and what I want to set for goals in the next year. I write in my journal by candlelight, with all the electric lights in the house turned off and my phone set aside.

Dec 21st: Solstice Day.

Bonfires and Music! Rooted in the natural cycle of the season: the wheel turns. I create a poster each year with an illustrated wheel of the year attached, listing the main pagan celebrations– Yule, Mabon, Beltane, etc. So I literally would rotate it on this day to Yule. If I’m not able to celebrate with friends and family on Solstice Day, I might start making the next year’s wheel and poster instead. I like to include lists of the new and full moon dates, and also the dates of meteor showers, lunar or solar eclipses, and any other astronomic events.

Shane suggests that the winter solstice should be the actual New Years, as it makes the most sense to count by Solstices. However, he suggests that the 12 days be off Calendar. Time Out of Time, as was sometimes done in old traditions. I vaguely remember reading where up to a whole month was set aside out of the calendar to catch up with leap years, and that period was so far out of time that normal expectations and responsibilities were lifted. It’s an interesting concept to have a period where the normal is set aside. I think we do that today too– holiday foods are much richer and lusher than normal, but folks frequently joke, “It’s Christmas, it doesn’t count!’ The holiday season is set aside as a special time, normal expectations don’t matter. We can rejuvenate and celebrate.

Dec 22nd: Knitting Day.

Gather together for any fiber arts–knitting, spinning, crocheting– and storytelling. I read a lovely Yule Cat story on Facebook, where the enormous Yule Cat threatened to devour a town until everybody was wearing something new for Christmas, so the townsfolk all hastily knit or sewed or crocheted something, sharing materials and scraps and also sharing stories together as they worked. I think that sounds like a nice tradition to approximate in real life, albeit hopefully without the threat of being devoured. I don’t fool myself that I could create something wearable that quickly, but just coming together to knit and chat would be a cozy tradition anyway.

Dec 23rd: Kitchen/Hearth Day

On this day I propose we bake or cook holiday treats, exchange cookies, and generally spend time in the warmth and heart of the kitchen. Focus on oven-based recipes- baking & roasting. Folks who expect a large holiday gathering in the next day or two can use this time to prepare some of the needed food; those of us who aren’t hosting or even attending anything, can still fill our homes with the scents of baking goodies, roasted meats, and so forth. This would be a good day to lay in plenty of food for the next few days so we can relax and not have to cook or clean again for awhile.

Dec 24th: Reading Day

While this is traditionally known as Christmas Eve, I don’t personally have much attachment to a particular celebration. I suggest we celebrate all things reading instead. Exchange gifts of books, bookmarks, pens & paper. Write letters and cards and journals, read books. (Also electronic equivalents on your tablet, Kindle, etc.) I imagine this as predominantly an individual, private time– disappearing into the pages of fiction, personal diaries, or writing to others whom we haven’t seen in awhile. It doesn’t have to be fully alone, though– friends and families could still gather for a sort of silent reading club, sharing their home and hearth. If someone has an actual fireplace to read beside, I imagine everybody would want to visit there to snuggle up and read together. Themed refreshments or costumes could even be encouraged, if a group enjoys that kind of thing.

Dec 25th: Christmas.

Gifts exchanged between close family and friends. Again, I don’t have a personal attachment to any religious tradition for this day. No theme to today’s gifts, simply an expression of affection and/or love. For this one day, everyone’s language of love is giving and receiving gifts. (For those of us who struggle with that, though, gifts of experiences could be a good compromise. Buying someone a membership to a museum, a credit for a class of one’s choosing, tickets for a trip, that sort of thing. If the gift-giver also has the same membership it thus could double as a gift of quality time together.)

Dec 26th: Wren Day and Boxing Day

A day to acknowledge the natural world around us, particularly the birds. Inspired by the old Irish tradition of Wren Day. Going for long walks in natural settings. Walking off your Christmas dinner. Searching for Wrens to take pictures of in particular and all birds. Shane maintains a Facebook group each year for Wren Day photos. I’m in that group but so far haven’t actually gone out for a Wren Day walk. I make sure my birdfeeders are full, at least!

Also to acknowledge Boxing Day, a day of keen giving. Donating to organizations and doing Service. Today’s love language is gifts of time and money. A time to remember the most fragile animals and humans, and devote ourselves to them.

Dec 27th: Gaming Day.

Gather to play board or card games, exchange gifts of games and puzzles. Puns, riddles, jokes, pranks. Also, solo word games like crossword puzzles.

Dec 28th: Gardeners Day

On this day we plant seeds, repot overgrown houseplants, give plants to friends & loved ones, and plan the spring garden. As the sun and growing time returns, it’s also a symbolic time for us to start new projects. Planning one’s New Years Resolutions could be done on this day as well.

Dec 29th: Burrowing Day.

Spend time wrapped in blankets (in/out of bed), a cozy, dark retreat from the world, along with cuddling with loved ones. Quiet and meditative. More candles. Many roots eaten—carrots, turnips, potatoes, onions, also mushrooms. I imagine most activities are done at one’s own home on this day, rather than going out to visit others. However, it could be a lovely day to invite others to our own burrow to share movies together, or talk about our plans and resolutions for the next year.

Dec 30th: Artists’ Day

On this day everybody should engage with creativity and visual/kinetic/3D arts. Paintings, clay, playdough, dancing, singing, music, drumming. Especially make things with reused and repurposed items (a drum made out of an oatmeal carton, collages from magazine pictures, doodles on back of junk mail envelopes.) A time for making beauty and engaging one’s inner child, even if our normal selves don’t usually do this or we don’t feel like we have any “talent.” Simply playing with art, colors, dance, or music, is enough– it’s the act of making art that counts the most, not the final product.

Dec 31st: New Year’s Eve. More Bonfires and Parties. “Giving up the Old” or “Casting Away” traditions. Write down things from the past year we want to release or leave behind, and throw them into the fire. Adopting the “First Foot” by visiting friends and being the first one to enter the home on New Years after midnight.

Jan 1st: New Year’s Day. First Walk. Affirmation Day. Start the new year as we hope to continue it. Look to our new year’s resolutions for guidance– more exercise? Time with family? Better organized? Today is the day to take first actions toward those goals.