The war on solstice has been underway for millennia. Partisans of solstice are fighting back.
I am not referring to the astronomical event. With the winter solstice, of course, we experience the longest night and the shortest day, and afterward, the days grow longer until the summer solstice arrives, and then grows shorter, until the next winter solstice. I am referring, instead, to solstice as a cultural phenomenon, to the ways it is celebrated, contested and invested with meaning.
For millennia, the cultural observance of solstice has involved religious beliefs and practices rooted in seasonal cycles and focused on nature as the source of existence, and sometimes also, related to creative divine beings. But cultures deeply conditioned by Judaism, Christianity and Islam (the 'Abrahamic' religions that trace their origins to the prophet Abraham) have viewed such perceptions as idolatrous and dangerous. Nature-based religions, the West's religious mainstreams have generally contended, can lead people away from the one true God. Those involved with them should be converted, and if necessary, suppressed, for they are both spiritually and socially dangerous.
Efforts to suppress nature-based beliefs and practices have been tremendously successful. Temples associated with pagan folkways, natural cycles such as the solstices and equinoxes, or celebrating fertility and rebirth, have been physically razed and invested with meanings supportive of monotheistic belief. Those who believe that there are spiritual beings or forces in nature have been denigrated as primitive and superstitious. Attacks by more powerful individuals and groups have led many to abandon nature-based spiritual traditions.
Nevertheless, for several centuries in the West, there has been a gradual resurgence of such spiritualities, although these are often appearing in new, more modern forms. In recent decades, this trend has been gathering momentum. While some involved in contemporary nature spiritualities believe the natural world is full of spiritual presences, or that god or other divine beings are behind it all, many profess no such belief. For them, one can be agnostic or atheistic while expressing awe and wonder in the face of the mysteries of the universe and a deep appreciation for the 'miracle' of life. With contemporary nature spirituality, both sensory experience in nature and scientific understandings foster a belief that nature is sacred and that all life deserves respect if not also reverence. 'The Symphony of Science' offers one creative example of how such spirituality can be expressed in music videos.
For conservatives involved in the West's predominant religions, these are unwelcome developments. Progressives may ridicule those who claim that there is now a cultural "War on Christmas" but Christian conservatives do have reason to worry. They know that their cultural influence has been waning, and that those with evolutionary and ecological worldviews are growing in number and influence. A DVD series released by a group of conservative Christians entitled "Resisting the Green Dragon," provides one recent example of such fears. These fears are based on an accurate perception that there is a religious dimension to much environmentalism. Those expressing such fears understand, accurately, that those engaged in nature-based spiritualities, both overtly and in subtle ways, are converting many to an evolutionary worldview and an environmentalist spirituality and ethics. They know that this is one reason they are having trouble even keeping their own children in the fold.
In this light it is more understandable why some Christians find it disturbing when people express their holiday wishes not with "Merry Christmas" but with "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings." Such greetings acknowledge the nation's increasing religious pluralism and they are often motivated by a polite desire not to presume that everyone is Christian. But for some, it is also an unpleasant reminder of the declining power of the religion they believe to be both true and a pathway to salvation.
Although it is not as common as Happy Holidays, today "Happy Solstice" is increasingly used as a yuletide greeting. This is more than an expression of holiday cheer -- it also conveys an alternative identity and an earthly spirituality in which nature itself is implicitly understood to be sacred. It is just one example the increasingly assertive forms that nature spirituality is assuming as it gains traction globally. Those offering such blessings may also invite loved ones to solstice celebrations that consecrate the natural cycles of the universe, while also expressing kinship with and reverence for all life.
Observers of contemporary religion know that it is not only possible to integrate contemporary evolutionary and ecological understandings with theistic beliefs, but that this is increasingly done, and in a variety of creative and sincere ways. Nevertheless, the epic battle between those who consider God and the sacred to be above and beyond the world, and those who consider it to be here and everywhere, is unlikely to end anytime soon. Indeed, as I argued in Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future, in the 150 years since Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published, it is now possible to see that the momentum has shifted toward more naturalistic spiritualities. This momentum will not likely be reversed.
Happy Solstice! Or is it? The answer will depend on where the sacred is in your mind and heart.
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To the posters who equate solstice celebration with atheism or even political "correctness" - I know thousands of people who have celebrated Solstice - solstices and equinoxes for that matter- for decades within a deep level of personal spirituality, cosmic spirituality, love for the earth and nature, and as a spiritual practice. None of them consider themselves "atheists"- its always a spiritual holiday, and atheism does not even come up for discussion. Solstice /Yule are very old and revered aspects of the human life on earth, for many.
In addition, please also accept our best wishes for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that this country is necessarily greater than any other country or area of choice), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the wishers.
This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. 'Holiday' is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).
Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.
In addition, please also accept our best wishes for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that this country is necessarily greater than any other country or area of choice), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the wishers.
This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. 'Holiday' is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).
One quibble and I'll be done: I'd rather say "Auspicious Solstice!" than "Happy!" Happiness is over-rated and largely a misleading notion the X-files folks have introduced to confuse the realities of life with wish-praying.
Blessed be all. :)
Levels of depression go up. It's a down time, a dark time, a time that seems to have no hope, unless one has a memory of previous winters and the cycle of nature. Then one knows that a day will come in mid winter when the days stop getting shorter and start getting longer. It may take a while, but this means warmth will return as will springtime, planting, summer revelry with sunshine evenings and harvest to keep us going.
This is a day to celebrate what will happen- Light and Life. Of course since we remember it will happen, why should we wait for it to happen to celebrate it? Let's make the entire season about what we hope for- Light and Life? Let's go ahead and party on last year's harvest. Let's go ahead and put up lights everywhere. Let's go ahead and focus on life that doesn't go away in Winter but stays green: conifer trees, holly, mistletoe. Let's believe in each other and bless each other.
Such a profound moment in our natural cycle can't help but be associated with whatever spirituality we have. What's wrong with that? If we connect to nature it's a given! Happy Solstice. If we have to elevate a relatively minor holiday to a major one, do it! Happy Hanukkah! If we have to pretend our central figure of faith was born then, do it! Merry Christmas!
I wish you Happy Solstice and a Very Merry Christmas!
http://denver.about.com/b/2010/12/20/winter-solstice-bike-ride-tuesday.htm
Get a breath of fresh air as we tour the various lighting arrangements downtown. Whether you prefer mystical or scientific explanations for it ... this is the turning point. It's all up from here. Sunny days will be back again. Both the cerebral cortex and the primitive hind brain can appreciate that in their own ways.
Bike lights are required. Helmet recommended.
And a Hare Krishmas to all.
Hare. :)
http://www.festivuspoles.com/pages/Festivuspoles.htm
A cleansingly-grousey Festivus to you, anyway. :)
Here's the thing, even if there was a pagan movement, unlike the ancient tribesman, we grasp the astronomy behind the ancient practices. No one is suggestion anymore that baby jesus, let alone thor or zeus, is somehow responsible for bringing the sun back from its decaying cycle. The "holiday", as it was originally celebrated, is well established to be utterly mythical. So please don't try to compare it to the birth of Jesus. No one is putting it on a similar level of spiritualism.
Even if we utterly disregard the atheists discussing the "reason for the season", you are still left with a large group of people with their tongues thoroughly planted in their cheek. It is at best a very whimsical justification for a party, and nothing more, whether you take your pagan roots seriously or not. The atheist is equally justified in declaring this a valid reason to celebrate.
I see no reason to require more justification. Any argument to party is good argument, if you ask me. Seems my low bar is a common measurement, not just throughout history, but throughout belief systems.
Check premises.
Never mind claiming you have the right to determine 'how many' it takes to meet with you bothering to look before making pronouncements. :)
If you find such offensive, then by all means, attack the people that insist on celebrating. it. It's not like I am insisting jesus was born on december. Quite the contrary.
There's no way you could read anti-environmentalism into the bible. These people aren't even christians. It's like comparing a random terrorism recruit with sufism.
So I would like to point out that your statement that
'it is not only possible to integrate contemporary evolutionary and ecological understandings with theistic beliefs, but that this is increasingly done, and in a variety of creative and sincere ways.'
is a vast understatement. In a sense, you've already lost the framing battle when you put it that way.
You can find lots and lots of references in the bible for the rationale behind sustainability as a yardstick for prudent economic decision making. In fact, it's even a well-established fact of the history of economics that the prudential utility calculus of economics and finance is presaged by the bible.
So, the whole thing is really 180 degrees the other way round: the bible already TEACHES sustainability, and it is only in recent decades that both economics and certain forms of christian religion have become so perverted as to neglect the relevant (and resounding) passages from their own religious canons.