Winter solstice - a humanistic celebration

Today is December 21st. The year does not matter, because my attention is directed to the day as such. Astronomically, the solstice does not always fall precisely on 21 December, but is a specific moment—down to the minute—that shifts slightly from year to year and may occur between 20 and 22 December.

The biological clocks of animals and plants sense the changes in light and the seasons that follow, especially near the Earth’s polar regions. Light and weather affect our bodies and our livelihoods, but that is not all. Human beings love to create symbolic meanings and embed them in our cultures, and many festivals in different cultural communities are therefore connected with these annual turning points: pagan Yule, Christian Christmas, Jewish Hanukkah, Persian Yalda Night, the Soyal ceremony of the Zuni people in New Mexico, and the Dongzhi Festival in China, to name a few examples.

Humanists have not, thus far, been strongly bound by tradition, since humanist values tend rather to look to what is reasonable in each case than to fasten our feet to a rigidly prescribed social programme. Freedom is important, and festivals must have their own independent appeal, since people should not be compelled to take part in them. Humanism looks to a balance between individual autonomy and needs on the one hand, and social and cultural needs on the other. We do not have to bind ourselves to either one exclusively, but can attend to both as circumstances and reasons suggest. Humanism rejects dogma and does not impose obligations on people on the basis of tradition alone, even though traditions often have beneficial social effects.

Symbolism and shared feeling at times of transition have value and create opportunities for people to come together and rejoice, or to attune our minds to some of the good things in life. In the minds of many humanists, the winter solstice—and the summer solstice—are fitting turning points that connect human beings with the Earth, the solar system, the biological clock, and, in a more abstract sense, with the beginning, birth, or renewed growth of something new and beautiful in existence.

In the northern hemisphere, darkness can symbolise a low point or nadir from which we gradually rise again, beginning a renewed path towards better conditions of life, growth, and maturity. It may also symbolise that the darkness of discord and conflict is beginning to see the light of day in reconciliation and peace. Such hopes are badly needed, since many are suffering from the effects of war or violence. The winter solstice can therefore be a festival of moral foresight and constructive vision for the future.

In humanism, the solstice may also be connected with the value of a realistic, critical, and scientific outlook, which has brought such great progress to human life. Humanists connect here with heroes of science such as Galileo Galilei, Marie Curie, and Carl Sagan, who gave us understanding of the unimaginably vast—the heavens—and the unimaginably small—the atoms. They did not only do that, but also awakened us to the wonders of the world and the captivating experiences they bring us. The sounds, forms, textures, and colours of nature are a constant source of experiences that give us meaning and joy, rooted deeply within us, since we too are among the children of nature.

Culturally, then, it is not a bad idea to use the solstices as occasions to celebrate this together. It is a choice.

[PS: For interest, the image accompanying this reflection was made by using a sunset photograph as the background for a new image generated by ChatGPT from that photograph and the words “Galileo Galilei, winter solstice, Earth orbiting the Sun”.]