Ways to Celebrate the Winter Solstice
Here in Northern Utah the days are getting so short! The sun goes down by 5pm and it is dark not long after that. These short days mean one especially fun thing, the winter solstice is coming and after that the days will get longer and we’ll be in full on winter. I love celebrating the winter solstice, it adds an extra special feel to the holiday season. It connects me to the changing of the seasons in a way that is much more satisfy than presents.
If you’ve never celebrated the winter solstice because you had no idea it was even a thing, here’s a little background on it. Celebrating the Winter Solstice goes back thousands of years. People all over the world have celebrated the shortest day of the year with bonfires and feasts. For many peoples it marked the beginning of the new year. Before our modern calendar systems were invented, it was customary to use the solstices and the equinoxes to mark the change of seasons and keep “time”. As a celebration of light, it was a way of bringing light to the darkness and welcome the return of longer days. It’s why Christmas trees have lights on them.
Celebrating Winter Solstice can be as simple as taking a walk or as complicated as having a bonfire to jump over, making wassail and having lots of friends over. In my house our celebrations have changed over the years, but we always do several things: we take a cold weather walk to hopefully enjoy the limited sunlight, then in the evening we have a small party with friends that includes food, drink and of course a bonfire with a Yule log to burn.
Here is my quick list of things you might try with your family.
Winter Solstice Activities:
Take a cold weather walk (whatever the weather, get out and enjoy some time outside)
Set a sunshine alarm for sunrise in your area and spend some time soaking up the first mornings rays
Make sunprints with found nature objects. This was one of my children’s favorite activities when they were little. You can find sun printing paper online in the big market places or at this lovely small business Bella Luna Toys.
Look for animal tracks in snow or frozen mud
Make a Yule log to burn in your bonfire. Traditionally the Yule log was started earlier in the year and carved with intricate decorations and pictures. It was then burned during the solstice celebration and the remaining piece of log at the end of the night was saved for good luck and added into the next year’s fire.
Have a bonfire with friends!
Make julekake. This an extremely delicious cardamom infused bread like cake from Norway, filled with dried fruits and cardamom and often topped with powdered sugar or a glaze.
Make clove oranges to decorate your kitchen table
Bring in fresh evergreen bows to freshen up your interior space
Light lots of candles to bring light to the darkness
There are so many more things you can do besides this. If you are looking for more ideas and a list of children’s books you can read my post about celebrating the winter solstice, I wrote while working for Sparkle Stories a children’s audio stories company.
Have you ever celebrated the Winter Solstice? Let me know in the comments below!
