As the winter solstice arrives in Belfast, it marks the shortest day of the year and a natural pause just ahead of Christmas. It signals the point at which daylight begins to slowly increase again, a key moment in the annual cycle of life.
In the natural world, growth slows and many plants and animals have entered periods of dormancy, conserving energy for the year ahead and resting after a season of growth. Humans also need to take advantage of this slower season to rest and recover from a living experience that is increasingly over stimulated and busy.
With the Christmas break already underway for some, the winter solstice serves as a reminder of the importance of rest. Historically, reduced daylight and colder temperatures limited outdoor work, creating space for recovery and connection. Stepping away from constant stimulation, spending time together in shorter daylight hours, and taking time to nurture your soul and align with the rhythms of the season.
Ancient societies
The winter solstice held significant spiritual and practical importance among ancient societies, it marked a turning point in their annual cycle, as the sun reached its lowest point in the sky before beginning the gradual return to its Summer arc.
Many prehistoric monuments were intentionally aligned with the solstice sunrise or sunset, demonstrating advanced astronomical understanding we don’t fully understand. Sites such as the Slieve Gullion Passage in County Armagh and Newgrange in Meath were constructed to align with the sun at the winter solstice, suggesting a ritual or ceremonial use connected to solar observation. To a lesser extent but an equally as impressive site, The Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge in Orkney, may have been constructed to align with astrological observations, but we will never know.
In many respects, these ancient monuments and historical practices; celebrating a change of light, recounting stories, and marking seasonal change, served practical and social functions as well as symbolic ones. They reinforced community cohesion and provided reassurance at a time of scarcity.
The winter solstice continues to represent a measurable turning point in the year, reminding us that brighter and longer days, and renewed activity inevitably follow the depths of winter.
