Hello Fellow Dialists,
Celebrate the return of the sun! Happy Solstice.
The posting on Maes Howe got me thinking of what the solstice must have
meant for early northern people. Consider the sun sinking lower and lower
each day until it was only a hands width (7.5 degrees) above the horizon
at noon and daylight was only six hours. It would be a magical time when
the sun stopped its decline and started to come back with its life giving
warmth and light for another year.
It is no wonder that the solstice is marked in such a remarkable way at
Maes Howe and so many other sites. Timing the solstice, in my opinion, is
the start of science, religion and civilization itself.
It is no wonder that this event is celebrated in so many ways in most
northern cultures with themes of light, salvation and re-birth. Whether you
are celebrating the birth of Christ, yule logs and Christmas lights, St.
Lucia, Hanukkah, New Years or Saturnalia, enjoy the Solstice today.
Cheers,
Roger Bailey
@ 51 N where we got less than 8 hours of daylight today.
