Winter Solstice Celebrations Around The World
How can you brighten up the darkest day of the year? How about waking the sun from its hibernation or making a sacrifice to the Sun God? Holiday Lettings finds ways to make the most of the shortest day of the year, from Stonehenge to Stockholm.
Solstice sunrise at Stonehenge in Amesbury, UK
Photo credit: Paul Townsend (license) via Flickr.com
Do you hear chanting and drumming? Then follow druids sporting ceremonial dress and masks to the centre of the stone circle. Raise your arms to the sky as it brightens to mark the end of the year’s darkest day. At sunrise, a line of light links the slaughter, heel and altar stones. This only happens at the end of the year’s shortest day – pure coincidence, cosmic magic or clever design? Come and decide for yourself.
Continue your spiritual journey with a trip to nearby Salisbury’s magnificent thirteenth-century cathedral. You can gaze up at the tallest spire in Britain or admire one of only four surviving original Magna Cartas. Saunter through the city’s quaint streets, taking in the dramatic black and white Tudor buildings and the charming 800-year-old market.
St Lucia’s Day in Stockholm, Sweden
Photo credit: Claudia Gründer (license) via Wikimedia Commons
St. Lucia’s Day is a festival of lights celebrated on the old Swedish calendar’s winter solstice of 13 December. Join a candle-lit procession and watch Lucia carry a lingonberry wreath on her head, followed by handmaidens in icy white gowns and little boys in glittering golden hats decorated with stars. Do try and grab a warming saffron bun or spicy ginger biscuit as they’re handed out.
Skansen Open Air Museum is the perfect place to mark the day: Lucia celebrations have been held since 1893 and you can find out about the various traditions at the Bollnäs House. You can party 1920s-style at the Brofästet temperance hall or sing traditional tunes at Seglora Church. Catch the all-day Fire and Ice concert and take in the crazy fire performers, cool ice carving and solstice music.
Soyal at Hopituskwa in Arizona, USA
Photo credit: Alan Levine (license) via Wikimedia Commons
Join the Hopi tribe in their Hopituskwa reservation and wake the sun from its long winter sleep on Soyal, the shortest day of the year. You may see tribal elders blessing their village, from houses and plants to pets, with pahos (prayer sticks). You might also spy them opening subterranean rooms known as kivas to welcome kachinas (protective spirits).
You can buy your own characterful kachina doll or colourful pottery directly from a villager’s home. Visit the Hopi Cultural Center Motel to find out more about the tribal culture at their museum and try out the local foods at the restaurant. Wander around Oraibi, the westernmost Hopi village, and soak up the atmosphere of the country’s oldest continuously inhabited settlement.
Dongzhi in Beijing, China
Photo credit: Wu Xiao (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
The Dongzhi festival celebrates the peaking of yin’s powerful cold and dark, and its simultaneous ceding to yang’s warmth and light. It’s a popular time for families to get together and devour delicious treats like brightly coloured rice balls or nourishing dumplings. These were reputedly originally distributed to the poor as a cure for chilblains and the tradition has stuck.
You can sample these dumplings for yourself at some of Beijing’s excellent eateries, for example the fennel ones at Laobian in the Haidian District or the water chestnut ones at Shun Yi Fu in the Dongcheng District. See families gather at their ancestral temples or tour the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which is not far from Shun Yi Fu and a lovely place to soak up the tranquil atmosphere.
Inti Raymi at Sacsayhuamán in Cusco, Peru
Photo credit: Cyntia Motta (license) via Wikimedia Commons
OK, this celebration takes place in June, but it honours the Sun God on the southern hemisphere’s shortest day. This was originally an Incan riot of vibrant dances, colourful processions, lavish feasts and animal sacrifices. It was banned by the Spanish conquistadores but has been revived (minus the sacrifices) and is celebrated today in indigenous cultures across the Andes.
For an authentic taste of the festival, process through the flower-strewn streets of Cusco to the ancient fortress at Sacsayhuamán. Shudder as the Emperor sacrifices a fake white llama at the high altar. Recoil as a high priest holds up the gory entrails and reads the future in the blood stains. Head outside and dance around the blazing stacks of straw as the sun sets.
