Usually December 22.

Aisha's Moonlit Walk

By Anika Stafford

From Skinner House Books

A fictional modern-day family celebrates eight pagan holidays over the course of a year.

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Winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Traditionally, it is a time of both foreboding and expectancy, as the longest night leads to the return of the sun. “Solstice” in Latin means “the sun standing still.”

The Winter Solstice has become important to both humanists and pagans, who can find common ground in celebrating this occasion. Themes can include light amid darkness; the death of nature and the cycle of life; the darkness just before the dawn; the miracle of every birth.

Faith Without Borders

For everything there is a season—a time to die and a time to be born. With the arrival of winter’s low dark sky, communities around the world look to the miracle of light as a sign of rebirth and a source of hope. We celebrate the promise of new life and recommit ourselves to the protection of everyone’s right to his or her own radiant humanity.

Celebrating the winter holidays is an excellent opportunity for Unitarian Universalist congregations to express their commitment to our Sixth Principle: We covenant to affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. See Sixth Principle Resources for winter holidays.

From Tapestry of Faith Curricula

Unitarian Universalist Perspectives

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  • Grief is welcome, a sacred part of the mourning.
    Reading | By Kari Kopnick | March 1, 2022 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Advent, Balance, Challenge, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Despair, Empathy, Grief, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship
  • Let us hold a quiet moment together as our chalice is lit. As the wild wind bites, so does the still flame warm us. As the deep snows block our doors, so does the gentle flame bring us out....
    Chalice Lighting | By Ben Soule | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Integrity, Relationships, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • An adequate Christmas would have you calm and open, taking it in, accepting whatever is. Slow it all down like you might be, in some way, attuned to the pace of the Eternal. If you need, you can fake it at first.
    Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 29, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Challenge, Choice, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, God, Self-Care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • Not gold, nor myrrh, nor even frankincense would I have for you this season, but simple gifts, the ones that are hardest to find, the ones that are perfect, even for those who have everything (if such there be). I would (if I could) have for you the gift of courage, the strength to face the...
    Meditation | By Maureen Killoran | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Challenge, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Connections, Courage, Generosity, Hope, Presence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Simplicity, Strength, Winter Solstice / Yule
  • It is a good morning to be together! When winter's darkness spreads across the land, and cold seeps through our thickest coats, we hurry here, drawn by the warmth of faces familiar and new, to the welcoming walls of this house. Here, for this hour, we open ourselves to new understanding,...
    Opening | By Barbara Cheatham | January 21, 2015 | From WorshipWeb
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Connections, Earth, Meaning, Unitarian Universalism, Unity, Winter Solstice / Yule