Vigil for the Sun

Posted at 12:44 pm on December 22, 2009 by McMama

Christmas Eve is an almost sacred tradition in my husband’s family, which is a touch ironic, since they’re not the religious type. They do this massive and yet informal dinner, wherein everyone gathers around the overlarge coffee table in the living room, and we sit on the floor enjoying appetizers, fondue, cookies, and coffee. It’s a quietly lit evening and everything you imagine Christmas with your family should be. I somehow always picture a flickering fire when I remember years past, even though there is no fireplace in my husband’s childhood home. Late in the evening, my Father-in-law reads The Night Before Christmas before we all head off to bed.

By the time we had our own kids, we had been a part of this tradition as a couple for nearly five years. It was near to our hearts and one we didn’t want to miss just because we lived in another state. But this meant we had to make a choice. Do we forego the Christmas morning tradition at home in order to have Christmas eve in Michigan? Do we miss out on the wonderful memories of the family fondue dinner and Grandpa reading The Night Before Christmas to have our own Christmas morning gift-opening followed by a solitary holiday?

What we ultimately decided on, given our own agnosticism and in particular my propensity for earth-centered religion, was to make our own tradition, centered around the Winter Solstice. Since the solstice happens a few days before Christmas, we would be able to develop our own special rituals without losing out on that connection to our families, and what is, for us, the meaning of the holiday.

So last night, instead of dreaming of sugarplums and what we might unwrap tomorrow, we kneaded our wishes for the coming year (symbolized by small bits of fruit) into individual pieces of sweet dough.

Instead of heading to bed early so that Santa could come while we slept, we stayed up all night in a vigil to give the sun strength to rise again after this longest night of the year. Instead of waking at dawn to rush downstairs to the Christmas tree, we took our fresh, warm Wish Bread (search inside for the recipe) upstairs to the bedroom with a window facing mostly east and watched the dawn come upon us.

We rejoiced in this symbolic rebirth of the Sun, in the hopes carried on the rise of a new year, and in our own little, wonderful, amazing family. Happy Solstice, Blessed Yuletide, and Merry, Merry Christmas to all of you DuPage Mamas.

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