Halcyon
Photo by Leland Francisco
As we near the Winter Solstice, the darkness presses in closer, leaving us with an ever decreasing amount of daylight as we go about our lives. This period of darkness is when our family celebrates Halcyon.
The word halcyon is used to depict a time of peace and quiet reflection, stemming from the mythical halcyon bird which was thought to bring calming winds to turbulent seas. It was used to describe times of peace between warring peoples.
Beginning on Thanksgiving and culminating with the Winter Solstice, our family embraces and celebrates Halcyon. We light a Halcyon candle each night to remind us that the light will once again return, just as it always has. The flame serves to focus our reflection of where we are in our lives and where we want to be, of how we want to improve upon our selves, and how we resolve to live our lives more peacefully and fully. We use this time of quiet darkness to focus ourselves and prepare for the things to come in the new year, after the return of the light.
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This post was previously published at Living Peacefully with Children.
About the Author - Mandy
Mandy O'Brien is an unschooling mom of four. She's an avid reader and self-proclaimed research fanatic. She shares a glimpse into her life at Living Peacefully with Children, where she writes about various natural parenting subjects. She also shares her view on books at Novel Obsession. and is working to help parents identify with and normalize attachment parenting through Attachment Parents Get Real.
2 Responses to Halcyon
I love this idea — how serene. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, this is lovely. My DD was just asking how we would celebrate the Winter Solstice, and I said I’d look into it… so timely, this post!