"In no heart is there total darkness"

Rejoice. Today is the winter solstice and the days will soon be getting longer. We've lost over 6 hours of daylight since June.  We will only gain a few seconds of light each day for the rest of this week, but don’t despair. We will gain a minute a day in January’s first week and two minutes a day by the end of the month.

Humans like to celebrate solstices. They are one of the oldest known holidays, and anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years.  The winter solstice focuses on hope. It is the start of the reversal of shortening days, and a time to celebrate the rebirth of the year.

A Winter Solstice Prayer

The dark shadow of space leans over us.
We are mindful that the darkness 
of greed, exploitation, and hatred
also lengthens its shadow 
over our small planet Earth.
As our ancestors feared death and evil 
and all the dark powers of winter,
we fear that the darkness 
of war, discrimination, and selfishness
may doom us and our planet 
to an eternal winter.
May we find hope in the lights 
we have kindled on this sacred night,
hope in one another and in all 
who form the web-work of peace and justice
that spans the world.
In the heart of every person on this Earth
burns the spark of luminous goodness;
in no heart is there total darkness.
May we who have celebrated this winter solstice,
by our lives and service, 
by our prayers and love,
call forth from one another 
the light and the love
that is hidden in every heart.
Amen.