Happy Solstice!

[rivka]

The Shortest Day
by Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that before. Thank you! Happy Solstice!

[papersky.livejournal.com]

That's lovely. Thank you.

[mouseman.livejournal.com]

My day length calculator shows that in my part of the world, Sunday's length is 7:27:44 and Monday's length is also 7:27:44.

The ... shortest *days* of the year. Maybe that means the extreme point is around midnight (mountain standard time) this year.

I've heard that the shortest and longest days of the year are affected not just by when the earth tilts towards/away from the sun (does this define solstice?), but also the apogee and perigee of the orbit. Too complex for me to remember how it works, though.

Cheers!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I didn't know the Solstice moved around - I thought it was always on the 21st. But apparently, it does move. And also, now, apparently it can happen more than once. Who knew?

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Mmmm... very nice. I think tonight I'll be doing something special tonight, hopefully involving spiced cider. :)

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And welcome, Yule, to you too!

I do believe that piece is recorded on one of the Revels albums, which is where I first ran across it. Cooper did some work for them.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Cool! We always read it at church, during Winterfest.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Yeah. They still recite it every year at Revels performances, too, at least in the Boston area.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

That's lovely. Thank you for posting it.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Is this the same Susan Cooper who wrote The Dark is Rising, one of the loveliest, creepiest, winter-solstice magic novels I've ever read?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's her. The Dark is Rising is my favorite book in the series.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Mine too. I just re-read it because it captures something about the season so well.

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's what I was going to ask, too. Yum.