A New Dawn

Last night, at 23:03, an event called "solstice" happened, due to the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. The moment of solstice was when the equator of the Earth was at the greatest distance from the Sun. Knowing when exactly the Earth is tilted furthest away from the Sun has only been possible in the modern era due to precise astronomical data tracking. Before then, it was impossible to determine when exactly the solstice occured, but observers could narrow it down to within a day or two. The night of the winter solstice is regarded as "the longest night of the year" and it is after this point that the days begin to grow longer. This is why the morning after the solstice is often thought of as a "rebirth" or "reinvigoration" of the Sun. In ancient times, the dawn of the Sun after the winter solstice was celebrated as New Year's Day. Stonehenge is thought to have been constructed as an observatory for pinpointing the date of the winter solstice. To this day, the public are allowed access to Stonehenge on solstice night, to observe the sunrise the following morning. The longest night of the year would have been faithfully observed as a solemn vigil, followed by rejoicing at dawn. 

All hail the rising sun, bedecked in gold, 

Our splendid mother awakens, 

With flowing strands of hair glistening through the clouds, 

Her happy face shines down upon us all.

The Anglo-Saxons personified the Sun as Goddess Sunna. The Sami called her Beiwe,the Norse called her Sól, in Sanskrit she isUshas, in Gaulish she is Sulis, in Lithuanian she is Saulė, in Greek she is Eos, in Latin she is Aurora, in Japanese she is Amaterasu, to the Hittites she was Arinna and in Canaan she was called Shapash. In other mythologies the Sun is masculine, but the feminine form seems more common. We all know that the Sun doesn't really have a gender, but in the world of the imagination we might see "her" as a nurturing mother to the Earth. The symbolic significance of light is tied closely with concepts of spiritual awakening and enlightenment. The warmth which the Sun provides gives us vigour in body and mind. She rouses us from the stagnation of winter and encourages us to grow green and prosperous. This is a day of rejoicing, which is why it's called "Yule" by many, thought to mean "jolly". Well I hope you have a jolly day, full of fun and laughter. May the sun shine brightly upon you this Yule day.