This morning we lit the fourth and final Advent candle. In a few short days, it will be Christmas! These Advent candles are not just a pretty centerpiece to have on the table during the holiday season. They represent a ritual, a time to slow down during the busy season and remember why it is that we go through all this craziness.

By stopping to light a candle, reflecting on what the holiday is really about can help you feel a deeper sense of peace. Because in the end, Christmas is not about the gifts or who has the biggest, brightest tree. It is a celebration of the birth of the saviour of one of the biggest religions on earth.




Today is also the day we should say "Happy winter solstice to you", as the shortest day comes and winter descends upon us officially... it's grey skies and rain down here with snow pretty much everywhere else. But even so, I have a sunny mood for some reason. Must be all the great food I've been eating :)


As a former resident of the great south land, I used to think that I understood what the Winter solstice was all about and thought that, while Stonehenge was pretty cool, weren't the Druids going just a bit nutty over the whole sun thing? Silly me.

Unless you've lived above 60° latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, the depths of Winter darkness and the glory of Summertime sunshine aren't nearly as dramatically different. I now completely understand why pagans sacrificed anything that was available and prayed to a goat in order to hasten the return of the glowing orb on the horizon. I find I'm doing it myself :)

A few degrees of latitude make a big difference. Small wonder that people in the Caribbean didn't go around building henges as they were too busy drinking fine rum and enjoying 11 or more hours of sunshine every day of the year. So, before the people who get a luxurious 10 hours of sunshine on the shortest day of the year go dancing around a fire and whatnot, come spend a winter up here where the solstice really means something.




Looking ahead, from now onwards, the evenings will start to get a little longer. By the end of December, sunset will be nine minutes later; by the end of January, a very noticeable seventy-three minutes later. It will be mid January though, before sunrise starts to get earlier. Those who are obsessed by the length of the day, daylight hours, sunrise, sunset and solstices will enjoy SunriseSunset.com.

Now I must make the finishing touches to my seafood chowder, as we have guests arriving for any minute now.