Celebrating the sol

On Dec. 13, when so many Shoals residents wrestled with tangled Christmas tree lights or raced to mail a holiday package across the country, a group took a break from such activities to celebrate the winter solstice, that often ambigous holiday marked on most calendars.

Congregants of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shoals listened to harp music during an hour-long service that concluded in a potluck feast of cookies, cakes and wassail, hot punch served at European solstice celebrations.

The winter solstice, celebrated this year on Dec. 22, marks the end of the longest night of the year. Solstice combines the Latin words "sol" meaning "sun" and "stice," "to stand still," said Dr. Danny E. Burton, a history of science and medieval history professor at the University of North Alabama.

In June, the sun starts a gradual drop until it began to noticeably rise higher on Dec. 22,

"During this mid-winter time, the sun is sinking lower and lower; this is a time of celebration when the sun is starting to come (up)," Burton said.

Solstice celebrations began with pre-Roman Empire pagans and were centered around agriculture, food, nature and the cyclical seasons of the universe, Burton said. Romans exchanged candles and figurines in celebration.

In 274 A.D., Christians in the Roman Empire adopted some of the solstice's pagan traditions (also known then as The Unconquered Sun) in an effort to convert pagans to their religion. Anglo Saxon Christians in the Middle Ages did the same.

Toni Brooks, program coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Shoals, said the service centered on the winter season, not paganism. "It's not a pagan service for our church," she said. "In our congregation, it's just a celebration of the season. ... It would not be a service where anyone felt they didn't belong."

The Unitarian congregation of Jews, Christians, Muslims and other religious preferences opted to hold the solstice service Dec. 13 for convenience, not too close to the holiday, when they have other seasonal plans.

The Romans weren't the only ones who celebrated solstice. Most natives in the northern regions of countries including China and India, also celebrated the sun.

"The winter was a pretty bleak time; you could really see the sun sinking lower as opposed to here in Alabama," Burton said.

Some Christmas traditions, such as the yule log and mistletoe, got their origins in solstice, Burton said. Several Germanic groups held mistletoe sacred and saw it as a sign of new life, its berries a signal that spring was not too far away.

"In ancient times, people didn't have all the light we had, so they were looking forward to when days grew longer."

Jennifer Crossley can be reached at 740-5743 or jennifer.crossley@timesdaily.com.