It all revolves around the Sun: the REAL reason for the Season

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet...Hanukkah. Bodhisattva. Solstice. Yule. Christmas. every one of these holidays, stripped away from their religious/social connections, have one thing in common. light. the Sun. Fire. the triumph of Warmth and Comfort over the Cold and Unknown Darkness. The Earth is actually nearer the sun in January than it is in June -- by three million miles. Pretty much irrelevant to our planet. What causes the seasons is something completely different. The Earth leans slightly on its axis like a spinning top frozen in one off-kilter position. Astronomers have even pinpointed the precise angle of the tilt. It's 23 degrees and 27 minutes off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. This planetary pose is what causes all the variety of our climate; all the drama and poetry of our seasons, since it determines how many hours and minutes each hemisphere receives precious sunlight

Solstice means...

standing-still-sun

Winter solstice is when the earth's tilt in your hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun, and therefore the daylight is the shortest. the sun has its lowest arc in the sky.

Hundreds of other megalithic structures throughout Europe are oriented to the solstices and the equinoxes, several sacred sites in the Americas, Asia, Indonesia, and the Middle East. recent research into the medieval Great Zimbabwe in sub-Saharan Africa (also known as the "African Stonehenge") indicates a similar purpose. In North America, one of the most famous such sites is the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people. Even cultures that followed a moon-based calendar seemed also to understand the importance of these sun-facing seasonal turning points.

medieval Catholic churches were also built as solar observatories. The church, once again reinforcing the close ties between religious celebration and seasonal passages, needed astronomy to predict the date of Easter. And so observatories were built into cathedrals and churches throughout Europe. a small hole in the roof admitted a beam of sunlight, which would trace a path along the floor. The path, called the meridian line, was often marked by inlays and zodiac signs. The position at noon throughout the year, including the extremes of the solstices, was also carefully marked.

The rebirth of the sun.
The birth of the Son.

Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some 1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language emerged from its Germanic roots. one such tradition was apple wassailing, the medieval winter festival custom of blessing the apple trees with songs, dances, decorations and a drink of cider to ensure their fertility.
another, more obscure tradition that most certainly predates Christmas, and was probably once a solstice ritual, because it is so linked to the themes of nature's rebirth and fertility. In Romania, there's a traditional Christmas confection called a turta. It is made of many layers of pastry dough, filled with melted sugar or honey, ground walnuts, or hemp seed.
traditionally the making of the cake enacts a lovely little ceremony to assure the fruitfulness of their orchard come spring. When the wife is in the midst of kneading the dough, she follows her husband into the wintry garden. The man goes from barren tree to tree, threatening to cut each one down. Each time, the wife urges that he spare the tree by saying:
"Oh no, I am sure that this tree will be as heavy with fruit next spring as my fingers are with dough this day."
Winter solstice was overlaid with Christmas, and the observance of Christmas spread throughout the globe. Along the way, we lost some of the deep connection of our celebrations to a fundamental seasonal, hemispheric event. Many people--of many beliefs--are looking to regain that connection now........
NEXT TIME: HOLY DAY GREETINGS