winter solstice
Why winter solstice matters around the world: 4 essential reads
By Molly Jackson — December 21, 2022
(The Conversation) — The dead of winter, when the longest night of the year takes place, has also traditionally been celebrated as a time of renewal and reverence.
Witches and wise men and ‘old magic’: A look at the spookier origins of Christmas lore
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 20, 2022
(RNS) — Pagans and Christians alike can rediscover the ‘reason for the season’ in the old stories and deepen their own beliefs.
RNS holiday gift guide 2022: Ideas for the kids, adults and Pastafarians on your list
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 18, 2022
(RNS) — Because not everybody celebrates a religious holiday in December, but everybody loves presents.
A Persian festival, Yalda, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, with pomegranates, poetry and sacred rituals
By Pardis Mahdavi — December 20, 2021
(The Conversation) — People stay up all night, telling stories and eating dried fruits, in addition to watermelon and pomegranate, to celebrate the sunrise soon after the longest night of the year.
Yule traditions new and old wish good riddance to 2020 at the winter solstice
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 19, 2020
(RNS) — The symbolism of the solstice resonates at the end of a dark, difficult year punctuated by a pandemic, political protests and a presidential election.
RNS holiday gift guide 2020: Puzzles, prayer cards and more gifts for staying in
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 25, 2020
(RNS) — Religion News Service is bringing back our holiday gift guide, full of ideas for all the people of faith — or no faith — on your list.
‘Hacking the good’ from religion at a secular solstice
By Tara Isabella Burton — December 20, 2018
(RNS) — A secular solstice celebration in wintertime is not for everyone. But attending one of these rituals for the religiously unaffiliated helps define our own ideas of 'sacred' and 'profane.'
A sacred light in the darkness: Winter solstice illuminations at Spanish missions
By Ruben G. Mendoza — December 13, 2018
(The Conversation) — California's colonial Spanish missions were sited to produce illuminations on solstices or equinoxes, demonstrating the power of our instincts to guide us through the darkness toward the light.
RNS holiday gift guide 2018: Books, Barbies, subscription boxes and more
By Emily McFarlan Miller — November 29, 2018
(RNS) — Not everybody celebrates a religious holiday in December. But almost everybody likes presents, and there's something for just about everybody in our annual holiday gift guide.
‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’? What these preferences reveal
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 19, 2016
(RNS) — Americans remain split on on how to greet others at stores at this time of year. Their answers reveal religious and partisan divides.
Solstice celebrations kick off tonight, the darkest night of the year
By Doyle Rice — December 21, 2015
Pagans, druids and revelers gather at ancient Stonehenge in England for the shortest day and darkest night of the year.
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