I was reminded several times of the lines in Susan Cooper\u2019s poem which I dearly love: The whole poem was read to us in both English and French. My cup overflowed.<\/p>\n The Shortest Day So the shortest day came Yule<\/a> is an ancient Germanic celebration of the winter solstice that has given us many of our Christmas customs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I got back this morning from an overnight trip.\u00a0 I went to Canada for a Winter Solstice celebration, and spent the night at a friend\u2019s house about halfway home.\u00a0 I just sat here for a while, looking out at the … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/jennydeupree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/trilithonfire-300x199.jpg\" "\\"trilithon&fire\\"")
<\/a>We entered the Stone Circle by a trilithon \u2014 a \u201cthree stone\u201d arch like the ones at Stonehenge \u2014 and walked on to create a big circle of people within the circle of stones.\u00a0 Two of our group went to each of the Four Directions, called the Spirits \u2014 in English and in French \u2014 and lit a torch in front of the stone to the East, then the South, followed by West and North.\u00a0 Kim explained to us that the fire should contain something left from the Yule log of last year, but there wasn\u2019t a log, so greenery from last year\u2019s wreath was on the fire.\u00a0 She lit the fire which blazed up nicely. Sylvie translated everything into French.\u00a0 Then we were each given a pine cone and stood holding it, thinking of the past year, the successes and the challenges, and what we wanted to leave behind.\u00a0 Standing there in the crisp snow, fingers and toes freezing, facing the blazing fire, seeing the big stones and the torches, and beyond us white and black fields and trees fading in the dusk.\u00a0 Beyond our circle and the stones, I could sense circle after circle of our ancestors, who had come together for millennia to celebrate the shortest day and the rebirth of the light.\u00a0 Standing there in the cold, we put what we wanted to leave behind into the pinecones and threw them into the fire.\u00a0 The sodium vapor lights of the town around us were the same color as our torches.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/jennydeupree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/circlesnownight-300x199.jpg\" "\\"circlesnownight\\"")
<\/a>
\nAs we left the circle we carried the energy within us to the place of feasting and dance.\u00a0 A short drive, and a long climb up three flights of stairs, brought us to the Chapel in the Manoir Stanstead<\/a>.\u00a0 The Manoir, which used to be a boarding school and monastery, is now a residence for retired seniors.\u00a0 The chapel had been renovated to make a great space for dancing, and a table at the end was loaded with food.\u00a0 We did many dances \u2014 to celebrate the dark, to celebrate the light, to celebrate our gathering, and as prayers for Peace in the world.\u00a0 On this border between the north and the south, America and Canada, English and French, we dance to celebrate our differences, not fight about them.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd everywhere down the centuries
\nof the snow white world
\nCame people singing, dancing,
\nto drive the dark away….
\nAll across the ages you can hear them, echoing, behind us,
\nlisten \u2014
\nAs promise wakens in the sleeping land
\nThey carol, feast, give thanks
\nand dearly love their friends,
\nand hope for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nwritten for the Christmas Revels<\/a> by Susan Cooper<\/p>\n
\nand the year died
\nAnd everywhere down the centuries
\nof the snow white world
\nCame people singing, dancing,
\nto drive the dark away.
\nThey lighted candles in the winter trees
\nThey hung their homes with evergreens
\nThey burned beseeching fires all night long
\nto keep the year alive.
\nAnd when the new day\u2019s sunshine blazed awake
\nthey shouted \u201cReveille!\u201d
\nAnd all across the ages you can hear them, echoing, behind us,
\nlisten \u2014
\nAll the long echoes sing the same delight
\nthis shortest day.
\nAs promise wakens in the sleeping land
\nThey carol, feast, give thanks
\nand dearly love their friends,
\nand hope for peace.
\nSo do we here now, this year, and every year
\nWelcome Yule!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n