prillalar | (no subject)

(no subject)

The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
All merry people rise and greet
The turning of the year.

Happy Solstice! Winter or Summer, as appropriate to your hemisphere.

(And Happy Having-Your-Yuletide-Story-Done as well!)

I never understood the solstice on a gut level until I wound up living about fifteen miles south of the 45th parallel, after a life previously spent in regions closer to the equator. (In the case of the three and a half years in Panama, a whole lot closer to the equator.) But there's something about watching December spiralling down into the dark, with the shadows closing in earlier and earlier until by the 20th it's pitch-black outside the windows at 4:30, that makes the visible lengthening of the days right after the solstice into a terrible and wonderful relief. The little paranoid voice in the back of the head that whispers, "maybe this is the year that it goes away and doesn't come back" falls silent, at least until next time.

December is a difficult month for me, because of the darkness. I keep telling myself I just have to make it through until the solstice and then things will start getting better. I don't celebrate Xmas, but I totally understand the need for some sort of to-do at this time of year, at least in the northern hemisphere.

And yay! The sun came up today!

Happy Yule!

Thanks!

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