WINTER SOLSTICE
by Laura T. Jensen
(Published: Chapel Hill News January 2010)
He is truly wise
Who has traveled far
And knows the ways of
the world.
Viking
Proverb, circa 800-1000 AD
The sky is a clear blue, the yellow
ball hanging there sparkles, like clusters of diamonds, off the snow collected
on every tree branch. On legs wobbling with fatigue from a morning spent on ice
skates, we snowshoe across a meadow for our first neighborly visit. The air
crackles and is so cold my teeth hurt. Friendly doors are opened and we are
welcomed with cakes and coffee. There is chatter, hugs and food everywhere we
stop.
Hours later, back home we drink
Aquavit; the bottle plucked from a snowdrift. The small-stemmed glasses prevent
our fingers from warming the liquor. The table groans with food; my stomach
growls. We eat cod, potatoes and cabbage. Gathered around a warming fire, we
ignore the howling wind and Skål again. This Aquavit is after all, “the water
of life.”
Tradition dictates
that someone tells a story. We all embellish and laughter bubbles. I speak
little Norwegian but it doesn’t seem to matter. I am gathered into the fold.
The tradition of
commemorating Winter Solstice continues in many lands to this day. No more
heartily than in Norway where a celebration to give thanks (for the coming of
spring) with merriment is the norm. Here the dark days are long but tomorrow
the days will begin to get longer, and that is what everyone is celebrating.
And, why not? At the Summer Solstice it will be light for almost twenty-four
hours.
I am in the land
of my forefathers to experience this ancient tradition and I am not
disappointed.
-END-
