According to tradition, people gather together on the longest night of year to protect each other from evil, burning fires to light their way through the darkness and performing charitable acts. On the longest night of the year, Iranians all over the world celebrate the triumph of Mithra, the Sun God, over darkness in the ancient festival of Shab-e Yalda (which translates to “Night of Birth”). Northern Chinese enjoy plain or meat-stuffed dumplings, a particularly warming and nourishing food for a midwinter celebration. The most traditional food for this celebration in southern China is the glutinous rice balls known as tang yuan, often brightly colored and cooked in sweet or savory broth. Today, it isn’t an official holiday, but remains an occasion for families to join together to celebrate the year that has passed and share good wishes for the year to come. The celebration may have begun as a harvest festival, when farmers and fisherman took time off to celebrate with their families. ![]() Occurring only six weeks before the Chinese New Year, the festival has its own significance for many people, and is believed to be the day when everyone gets one year older. The Chinese celebration of the winter solstice, Dong Zhi (which means “Winter Arrives”) welcomes the return of longer days and the corresponding increase in positive energy in the year to come. Lucia’s day, girls in Scandinavia wear white dresses with red sashes and wreaths of candles on their heads, as an homage to the candles Lucia wore on her head to light her way as she carried the forbidden food in her arms. As a symbol of light, Lucia and her feast day blended naturally with solstice traditions such as lighting fires to scare away spirits during the longest, darkest night of the year. when the Romans killed Lucia for bringing food to persecuted Christians hiding in Rome) was also the shortest day of the year. According to the old Julian Calendar, December 13 (the date that is traditionally given as the day in 304 A.D. ![]() Lucia, one of the earliest Christian martyrs, but was incorporated with earlier Norse solstice traditions after many Norsemen converted to Christianity around 1000 A.D. This traditional festival of lights in Scandinavia honors St. During this jolliest and most popular of Roman festivals, social norms fell away as everyone indulged in gambling, drinking, feasting and giving gifts. Though it started out as a one-day celebration earlier in December, this pagan festival later expanded into a riotous weeklong party stretching from December 17 to 24. Western culture owes many of the traditional midwinter celebrations-including those of Christmas-to Saturnalia, an ancient Roman solstice celebration dedicated to the Saturn, the god of agriculture and time. ![]() From Ancient Romans to Indigenous Americans, cultures around the world have long held feasts and celebrated holidays around the winter solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it takes place in late December in the Southern Hemisphere, it occurs in June. ![]() Writer(s): GABRIEL RENE, MEI LWUN YEE, ANDREW LAWRENCE CALDWELL, GINA RENELyrics powered by winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. As the winds blows, my heart knows As the wind blows through the trees My heart is stirring like the leaves Even as the rain falls from the sky Clouds fills my eyes and I wonder why Wonder in a sense of amazement and awe At how life begins It never seems to never seems to cease In it′s educating reminding awakening us From the things that we think that we know From the things that we think that we know As the wind blows, my heart knows As the wind blows through the trees My heart is stirring like the leaves Even as fires flames burning bright I feel my soul is my guiding light I wonder in a sense of amusement and awe At how life evolves Never seems to never seems to cease In it's elevating redefining awakening us From the things that we think we know From the things that we think we know, we know I thought I knew I thought I knew As the wind blows, my heart knows As the wind blows through the trees My heart is stirred up like leaf I thought I knew I thought I knew I thought I knew As the wind blows, my heart knows As the wind blows, my heart knows As the wind blows through the trees My heart is stirring like the leaves
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