Bring on the light! Happy Winter Solstice!

I've got George Winston's December playing right now, one of my all time favorite wintertime albums. I love this time of year- with both its Pagan and Christian ties. And I love how the Christians melded Pagan Solstice rituals into Christmas celebrations. Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. And the New Year doesn't begin on January 1st. The New Year begins today on the shortest day of the year-well at least for those of us who live north of the equator-and the farther north the shorter the day. Here on the 48th parallel sunrise was at 7:59 this morning and sunset is scheduled for 4:17. As far as when was the Christian Messiah's birth-who knows? Scholars will continue to argue and search for when that date occurred-but I'm okay with Christmas day as the day chosen for that celebration. The Orthodox Christians however wait for Jan 6th to celebrate Christmas-that's okay by me too-for it allows me to keep my tree up for another week! Great article in today's National Geographic News on the history of Winter Solstice celebrations. Check it out. And whether you are celebrating the return of the sun or the Son or both-its time to celebrate! Happy Winter Solstice Everyone! And if you live in Ecuador-well, I guess it's just another day!

(photo-fleeing sunlight on BC's Fraser River just outside of Chilliwack-49th parallel)