Winter Solstice is a great time to marry

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Tomorrow is Winter Solstice ... shortest day and longest night of the year. Las Vegas will be lit up with neon galore but I think we can also use a hunk ... a hunk of burning love to herald in the light.

Winter solstice is a cool time to get hitched. Symbolically, if you can make it through the darkest night together, it helps you begin married life with more sunshine to come.

You also beat the New Year’s rush to the altar and can marry on a day that is close to all the holidays – Christmas, Kwanza, Yule, Hanukah. In fact, Winter Solstice this year falls on the same day as the seventh day of Hanukah, December 21 – another festival that celebrates the light.

Since it is said that bride and groom represent two lights coming together as one stronger, brighter light, it’s a great way to celebrate the merging of your lives.

There is much folk lore and history about this time of year. You’ll find many of the holidays celebrated by different faiths this time of year find their origins in the ancient Winter Solstice customs, named after the Roman sun god, Sol. It is considered a spiritually auspicious or celebratory time. Some factoids:

• It is the shortest day and darkest night of the year: From this day forward, the days will grow longer and the nights shorter so it is a time to celebrate the re-emergence of the sun’s light. Without getting too technical, the solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 (this year it is the 21 st) when the sun is closest to the earth. Find out more at: http://geography.about.com/cs/calendarsseason/a/winter.htm

• The ancients would mark this time of year with rituals: They didn’t have Al Roker to tell them the sunlight would return, so they would light fires, make offerings to the Gods and pray for the return of the light. The Celts would perform rituals to mark the dying of the old sun and the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a major 5 to 7 day holiday dedicated to the god of Agriculture, Saturn. There was drinking, gift-giving, bonfires and candles. Very similar to, and some say the genesis of, Christmas as we celebrate it today. For more on diverse celebrations, http://www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm .

• Yule tide celebrations: It was a European tradition to begin to burn the Yule log on the Winter Solstice and to celebrate the holiday known as Yule. To this day, people who practice earth based spirituality celebrate Yule with gift giving, feasting, merriment, and a fire in the fireplace whenever possible. Many mark this day with candle lighting rituals (and a bonfire here and there) that evoke the promise of more light in their lives. For more on Yule, http://www.candlegrove.com/yule.html

Any way you look at it, Winter Solstice is a turning point in the year. Since marriage is a huge turning point in your relationship, the light of Winter Solstice, along with the brightness of the Las Vegas strip, will illuminate your marriage.

Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is one of New York's leading interfaith and non-denominational wedding officiants. She creates unique ceremonies for couples of all backgrounds and faiths, and is also widely recognized as a bridal stress expert and columnist. She is author of WEDDING GODDESS: A Divine Guide To Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss (Perigee Books, May 2005). Visit Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway at www.WeddingGoddessWisdom.com.

Posted December 20, 2006 7:12 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Email This