Longer Days and Shorter Nights

6:35 p.m. Central Standard Time tonight marks the Winter Solstice, which means the days will begin to grow longer. Tonight is the longest night of the year and can also be the darkest night of the year, depending on the lunar cycle. December's Full Moon, by the way, is referred to as Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Frost Moon, Long Night's Moon or the Moon Before Yule - the last two are associated with the Winter Solstice. During darker, or less modern times, the winter solstice festival was a feast which marked the beginning of the "famine months", January through April, when starvation was more common.

The Ancient Persians were the first to celebrate the winter solstice, now known as Yalda or Shab-e Cheleh in the Iranian calendar, celebrating the birth of the Sun god Mithra. Yule is the term given to the same celebration of Scandinavian Norse mythology and German Pagans - Yule logs were lit in honor of Thor, the god of thunder, and feasting would last as long as the log would burn - sometimes up to twelve days. The feast was typically marked by the sacrifice of a pig for the god Freyr. This tradition survives in the form of Scandinavian Christmas ham (we thought ham was served to offset the Thanksgiving turkey - we're so silly).

Yule is also a secular alternative to Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as, a Wiccan holiday commemorating the death of the Holly King (identified as a wren bird, symbolizing the old year and old, shorted out sun) at the hands of his son and successor, the robin redbreast Oak King (the new year and new sun). Ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, which commemorated the dedication of the temle to the god Saturn. Slavics observe Karachun (similar to our Halloween) when evil spirits are most potent (the longest night), which is also associated with ancestor worship (burning fires in cemeteries to keep loved ones warm and organizing meals so that the dead will not go hungry).

Chinese and East Asian cultures celebrate DongZhi, or "the extreme of winter", the origins of which may be traced to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and cosmic harmony. The celebration revolves around family gatherings, at which Tang Yuan, or glutinous rice flour balls, typically brightly colored are given and consumed (normally one large and several smaller per family member).

Houstonist may raise a toast tonight to new beginnings, a new astrological year and lots of bacon cheeseburgers during the famine months - if that burger part isn't too "wrong".

Photo by flickr user Eric Melear