Better Days are coming

While celebrating the Winter Solstice by listening to the dulcet tones of the Divine Mrs. M and an Episcopal Choir do their version of nine lessons and carols, a funny thing happened.   Although it was technically the first day of Winter, the day was just a fraction longer than the one before.  Tomorrow will be 7 seconds longer than today.  So, while it may be cold and miserable in the short term, it is really all about daylight hours and the coming of spring.  I totally understand why the solstice celebrations were so important to early civilizations.  The creeping darkness, especially in the northern hemisphere reached its peak and our ancestors fought back with festivals celebrating the return of longer days.  We have imposed Christmas celebrations over the  old pagan rites, but the message is the same.  Salvation is coming, spring will return and we reaffirm our connection with a life giving message of hope.