Winter Solstice

Uprose the wild old winter-king,

And shook his beard of snow ;

‘ I hear the first young hare-bell ring,

Tis time for me to go!

(The poem in its entirety is at the bottom of the post)

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The Winter Solstice occurs today, December 21, 2009 at 12:47 Eastern Standard Time in Tennessee. This is the shortest day of the year and the sun’s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. For eons, humans have celebrated this turn of events with lights, feasting and gifts. We join in the lighting of the darkness as we look towards the rebirth of the earth in spring.

Frances

(The wooden wizard of winter was one of several that we painted on chippings of firewood at our first Tennessee home. They were sold as nature loving santas, and later morphed into green robed, green haired and bearded men with the accompanying tag:”Leaf Man”, Ancient symbol of being at one with Nature, Life and the Earth…., not that popular as I still have several, HA)

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SPRING

Uprose the wild old winter-king,

And shook his beard of snow ;
‘ I hear the first young hare-bell ring,
Tis time for me to go!
Northward o’er the icy rocks,
Northward o’er the sea,
My daughter comes with sunny locks:
This land’s too warm for me!’

And softly came the fair young queen

O’er mountain, dale, and dell;
And where her golden light was seen
An emerald shadow fell.

The good-wife oped the window wide,
The good-man spanned his plough ;
‘ ‘Tis time to run, ’tis time to ride,
For Spring is with us now.’

And the city-maiden smiled that day

In all her loveliness ;
‘ I must pack my furs and things away,
And think of a new spring dress,
A new chapeau—a feather fine,
Light gloves, and ribbons gay.’
Oh, winter wild !—oh, maiden mine,
Thus runs the world away.

From The music-lesson of Confucius, and other poems published in 1872
By Charles Godfrey Leland