In Cook County, winter solstice themes center around warmth, community, and the return of light
Dec 24, 2024 09:53AM ● By Content Editor
Community members gather around the fire at North House Folk School to burn their gloomies from the past year. All photos by Laura Durenberger-Grunow
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - December 24, 2024
If you were awake at 3:20 a.m. (central time) on Saturday, December 21, you experienced the official start time of the winter solstice. Scientifically, the winter solstice occurs when the earth is at its closest point to the sun, a point known as perihelion (which will occur on January 4, 2025), but tilted at its furthest point away from the sun's direct rays. The winter solstice also marks the shortest day of the year, with approximately 8 hours and 24 minutes of daylight. Plus, after Saturday, the earth began tilting back towards the sun, meaning more daylight for those of us in the northern hemisphere.
We have solstices and equinoxes (and seasons) because the Earth is tilted on an axis. As the Earth moves around the sun, that tilt shifts. The image below visually represents the Earth's tilt compared to the sun.
The solstices can represent a time of celebration, with many cultures and religions continuing long-held traditions each year and sharing stories. For many, it's a celebration of the promise of light returning. Boreal Community Media asked the community to share their solstice traditions; the overall themes were light, warmth, and community.
Lighting a fire is a common ritual for many, with some traditionally singing songs, dancing, gathering with friends, sharing baked goods, or burning their gloomies, or glooms. A gloom is what it sounds like, a worry or something troublesome (typically from the past year) that people write down and release into the fire. The first recorded tradition appears to have started on Christmas Eve in 1923 when artist Will Shuster noticed many of his friends were feeling down. He had them write down and burn all of their worries and troubles, encouraging them to let go. The experience evolved when Shuster later traveled to Mexico and attended a Good Friday celebration hosted by the Yaqui people. There, an effigy of Judas was constructed and then burned to symbolize the destruction of evil. When Schuster returned to the United States, he decided to pair the burning of the gloomies and the symbolization of evil through an effigy. The burning of Zozobra, or "old man gloom," in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has now become a huge event, attracting 60,000+ people each year. (Zozobra is a Spanish word for a strong feeling of anxiety or distress.)
Here in Cook County, we have the opportunity to celebrate the solstice with the Good Harbor Hill Players Shadow Puppet Show - a tradition for many to gather in the community on the longest night of the year. There, we also are able to burn our own gloomies after the show, surrounded by the warmth of the fire and community, near one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, and with the knowledge that light is returning.
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - December 24, 2024
If you were awake at 3:20 a.m. (central time) on Saturday, December 21, you experienced the official start time of the winter solstice. Scientifically, the winter solstice occurs when the earth is at its closest point to the sun, a point known as perihelion (which will occur on January 4, 2025), but tilted at its furthest point away from the sun's direct rays. The winter solstice also marks the shortest day of the year, with approximately 8 hours and 24 minutes of daylight. Plus, after Saturday, the earth began tilting back towards the sun, meaning more daylight for those of us in the northern hemisphere.
We have solstices and equinoxes (and seasons) because the Earth is tilted on an axis. As the Earth moves around the sun, that tilt shifts. The image below visually represents the Earth's tilt compared to the sun.
Image: NASA
The solstices can represent a time of celebration, with many cultures and religions continuing long-held traditions each year and sharing stories. For many, it's a celebration of the promise of light returning. Boreal Community Media asked the community to share their solstice traditions; the overall themes were light, warmth, and community.
The Shortest Day is a book that shares the reason behind the solstice, as well as different cultural traditions, celebrated around the world. It even includes recipes and kid-friendly experiments.
Lighting a fire is a common ritual for many, with some traditionally singing songs, dancing, gathering with friends, sharing baked goods, or burning their gloomies, or glooms. A gloom is what it sounds like, a worry or something troublesome (typically from the past year) that people write down and release into the fire. The first recorded tradition appears to have started on Christmas Eve in 1923 when artist Will Shuster noticed many of his friends were feeling down. He had them write down and burn all of their worries and troubles, encouraging them to let go. The experience evolved when Shuster later traveled to Mexico and attended a Good Friday celebration hosted by the Yaqui people. There, an effigy of Judas was constructed and then burned to symbolize the destruction of evil. When Schuster returned to the United States, he decided to pair the burning of the gloomies and the symbolization of evil through an effigy. The burning of Zozobra, or "old man gloom," in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has now become a huge event, attracting 60,000+ people each year. (Zozobra is a Spanish word for a strong feeling of anxiety or distress.)
Here in Cook County, we have the opportunity to celebrate the solstice with the Good Harbor Hill Players Shadow Puppet Show - a tradition for many to gather in the community on the longest night of the year. There, we also are able to burn our own gloomies after the show, surrounded by the warmth of the fire and community, near one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, and with the knowledge that light is returning.
The Good Harbor Hill Players 2024 Winter Solstice Show, Whoo Shall I Say is Calling?, is introduced to a large crowd at North House Folk School.
Intricate, handmade, moveable shadow puppets are one of the highlights of the show.
The live band and dancing puppets never fail to put smiles on the faces of attendees.
The appearance of the Krampus, a horned figure common in Alpine folkloric traditions, is a crowd favorite. This year, they threw fake mice into the audience to follow the show's theme.
