Over the hump

The peak has passed. We are over the hump. Days will become longer and nights shorter. The change does not seem apparent in these few days but the shortest day - the winter solstice - has passed. You might be distracted by a baby in a manger or fat old men dressed in red suits but celebrating this time of year is because the earth reaches a point where the northern hemisphere halts its leaning away from the sun. For a few days the earth teeters in essentially the same place while it recognizes physical forces that will bring it back toward the sun.
Humans for millions of years recognized it intuitively as a time when day light hours would lengthen and slowly the earth would warm once again. As scholars have recorded the earth's changes are marked as solstices - shortest day in winter, longest day in summer, and equinoxes mark the time when the earth is halfway between the solstices. Humans use any excuse to celebrate and expectations of good things to come are high on the list. But controling celebrations was a power some folks could not resist. They found a way to frighten folks and thus lead them like sheep. Frightened humans sought supernatural sources for the natural celebrations and so created gods to console them.
Lights of many colors are welcome in these days of long darkness. Gifts are important to keep the economy healthy in our top-heavy money system. As always love is the real gift. And it is sad that some believe love only comes from acceptance of the fantasy god baby in a manger. Why do they insist on fantasy instead of natural and wondrous reality?
Naomi Sherer