Today marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, the formal end of the dark days, and the beginning of more light every single day until late next year.

We are planning, in the best pagan tradition, a solstice fire tomorrow night. We won’t dance by the fire tonight, but she will dance in Bennington, Vt. It’s planned for tomorrow, weather permitting.

We can’t do the fire because Maria has a year-end felly dancing class, and nothing except total catastrophe takes precedence over a belly dancing class.

We have been adding twigs and old wood to the pile for weeks. It’s big enough now.

Maria gave me a Solstice gift today, a warm and soft winter cap just in time for the intense cold about to descend on us and so many others.

The hat is excellent; it fits perfectly and keeps my head warm. As I got balder, I realized this is important for keeping warm. I keep a hat on all winter and then in the sun to keep me from getting too hot.

I take the Winter Solstice seriously.

For me, it marks the end of the dark season and the beginning of the season of color and light. A new start for me and all of us. This was the holy day of the old days, both for pagans and farmers.

The Winter Solstice was a big day for farmers and rural people; it signaled the beginning of the season of life of color and light.

The photo is from last year’s solstice celebration. I squawk about the cold, but this is an important night for us, living on a farm surrounded by farmers. This was a big day on the calendar. Spiritually, the new season is a big thing for me. I’m already ordering seeds for my garden beds.

Soon, it would be time to plant. I hope the farmer tomorrow night is warm; Maria rejected my proposal that we wait a few months. She just laughed.