I often view December as a time of reflection, excitement, and anticipation. Between so many traditions having holiday celebrations, gathering with family, and wrapping up end of the year tasks, the month of December rushes in at a whirlwind pace and doesn’t let up. At some point between the start of the month and the third or fourth week, a feeling of urgency settles in as though there is not enough time to savor every desire on our universal wish list. Perhaps this is what makes December a perfect fit for its place at the end of the calendar year.
Candles in the snow [Pixabay]
Traditionally, January fills the start of the secular calendar year with the best of hopes, goals, and perhaps a bit of lingering saturation from raucous New Year’s Eve celebrations. There is the divide between those who actually keep their New Year’s resolutions and those who barely make it until February. Gyms, weight loss centers, colleges, and organization programs are among the many that promote discounts or how to best capture the temporal spirit of January as a time for the opportunity for a fresh start.
As time weaves its path through the secular months with its rhythms of ups and downs, the, it is easy to check off a list: to finish a school year; to mark joy with weddings, births, and graduations; to honor those no longer with us with funereal rituals, memorials, and life remembrances; to show off craft projects; or to acknowledge achieving the perennial goal of living life to the fullest.
By the time December arrives, there may be disappointments and satisfactions that mirror our individual passage of time in our lives. Achievements may include the common stated desire throughout the year of spending more time with family and friends, but for some, December is the loneliest time of year exactly for that reason. This is a time for those who do not have family of origin or family of choice to visit or to host.
For some, past tragedy mars the ability to enjoy the blessings of time with chosen friends. For some, giving back through volunteer work or engaging in work to help those who do not have the family or resources to enjoy the annual month of nearly non-stop shopping and revelry brings comfort and peace. For others, December recalls yet another opportunity to mourn personal losses or disappointments for accomplishments missed.
Yet the beauty of December lies in bringing the light out in our own lives. I find that a choice to acknowledge the good that happened throughout the previous eleven months creates a balance to assists with entering the new year to come. Just as I find that a good banish helps to pave the way for a terrific ritual, the choice to celebrate the self helps in considering who and what will be in the coming year.
I love December because it is a fresh way to stop being shackled to the past. Choosing to have difficult conversations with yourself allows a freedom to reassess a true sense of who you are and your own memories. Around Winter Solstice, Yule, or during the longest night of the Saturnalia season, one new practice I’ve found comforting is to reflect upon the five events or people I am grateful for having in my life and five events or people I look forward to exploring in the future.
In our tradition, the longest night is the start of the new year, and part of the ritual is to acknowledge our successes since the Summer Solstice and what we wish to put into play for the next six months. Baring the truth via ritual practice effects a release of what is no longer needed while cleansing the internal space for the following year.
In our various traditions, we acknowledge longer nights through celebrations of light. It is nearly impossible to get through all thirty-one days of December without a bombardment of advertising for or seeing a holiday movies. Many emphasize Christmas while also showing the importance of giving gifts as a way of saying thanks, demonstrating love for others, and celebrating the overall holiday season.
A cozy cup of hot chocolate and a book [Pixabay]
As Pagans, Heathens, and Polytheists, we celebrate the change of seasons and the longest night with hope through rituals, feasts, exchanges of gifts, and decorating our homes. December is prime season for tacky ugly sweater parties, for cooking, for hot chocolate, and for eating all manner of yummy dishes, including my personal favorite – a light version of the oft-maligned fruitcake. The secret is in keeping it moist, usually with fruit juice, brandy or rum, the type of fruitcake.
Here is the one used in our family for nearly 70 years. In celebration of the people I love, ancestors who have passed during my life, and family who request it, I am making the same recipe this December. While most people love the dark fruitcake, I vote for at least trying the white fruitcake, especially if you like golden raisins and coconut.
Vintage Christmas Fruitcake Recipes [Better Homes and Gardens, 1953]
I see December as a month to reflect on life, music, and laughter. It is a reminder to live in the moment as the best version of ourselves. Our inheritance for our time on this plane are the experiences we undergo each day of our lives. It allows space to assist in maintaining good mental health by choosing to be in situations or with people who nurture while avoiding those that are toxic to our internal well-being.
It is a time to reach out to neighbors, strangers who are just friends we haven’t met yet, and people who may need us far more than we might realize.
Stay warm [Pixabay]
Whether you’re at an airport in a frantic rush to re-engage with society in the first nearly-post-pandemic December in several years, taking time off to spend with family or loved ones of choice, shopping in person just to be around others, or curling up with a good book and preferred streaming service of choice, December’s joy is just waiting to be captured.This is a time to reflect upon the past, anticipate the year to come, and to celebrate the wonderful gifts that each of us received throughout the year.
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