Marking the Winter Solstice

 

Our days are much shorter with dawn coming later & night coming earlier. 

It is the time to 'nest' when you can, to take stock as the year winds down to Christmas. 

I like to bring in fresh greenery in to the home - fir, holly, ivy, pine cones & my garland is up on the front door to welcome in visitors too. 

I went in to the woods last weekend to forage & came out with a handful of gorgeous fallen branches. 

I have tied them up in to a swag & put them on the patio chimnea that faces the house so they can be seen from the windows. 

The taller branches are in the funnel of the chimnea, along with the autumn ones I picked up some weeks before from the same woods. 

They are a visual link to nature & my love of forests & woods. 

There is something very therapeutic about spending time in woods or forests, the smell of pines, of gentle sounds of nature & being able to pick up some branches - it is an important connection. 

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day & the longest night of the year, when darkness abounds & the light will slowly start to return again.  

This is how I have marked the Winter Solstice previously 

It is a good time to reconnect with nature & the natural rhythm of the season. Bringing in natural greenery is important too - less faux, more real. 

This time is also known as Yule, or Modranight (Mother Night), or Midwinter - it is the gentle pause in the seasons.

Norse & some Anglo Saxon cultures celebrate the influence of Mothers on this night, their wisdom & lineage remembered, their stories told so they are not forgotten. It is a lovely tradition. 

This is some of my female ancestors who had a big influence on my life. I am so fortunate to have several generational photos of my maternal line ... 

I like to do a simmer pot of winter scents at Solstice to fill the home with fresh fragrance & light candles to mark the return of the light. A dark cycle completing ... 

These are the herbs associated with the Winter Solstice. 

 I look forward to the light slowly returning but I also love the dark nights when homes are lit by gentle lights over the festive season. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting with me, 

Dee 🕯️🌲🍁🪾🔥

The JOYful third Sunday of Advent ...

I love how the four candles of Advent quietly mark the approach of Christmas. Each candle a reminder that preparations are needed to make the festive season run smoothly. It is also a reminder of the  reason for the season, something that is forgotten in the commercial rush. 

The JOY candle joins the first two of HOPE & LOVE, a reminder to spread positive messages in your wake because many people do not look forward to the festive season for various reasons. 

I often join friends or host friends for supper before Christmas when we are all spread out. Celebrating the JOY of friendships, fellowships & support. We treasure our time together before returning to our own family time.

The JOY candle is a reminder to find Joy this week. 

It is also a timely reminder for quiet time, for stillness when the pressures get loud for more & more. 

I like to take time away to enjoy the traditional elements. 

Yesterday I took a woodland walk, to breathe in the pine scented air, to pick up some fallen branches ahead of the winter solstice in a few days. 

It brings to mind to carol of The Holly & the Ivy - a reminder that our ancestors were connected to the seasons & their observances of bringing in greenery, of holly used in modest homes as decoration & symbolism of renewed life, of  yule logs kept burning or lit from a central one. These were important observances that gave hope in mid winter. 

JOY in stepping away & appreciating simpler times. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting, it is appreciated

Dee 🌲 🌳🍂🪾

A perfect Solstice meal for hot weather ...

 I love to take my time over preparing a pretty table & menu for friends, even if it is a relaxed meal. It says someone has taken time over & given thought to many things like the weather (summer hot), the season (summer solstice) and the friends visiting.  

Using coloured glass brings in a freshness to a table setting & I enjoy using mine. It is not dishwasher proof so they are all rinsed by hand, a small price to pay for enjoying them. 

For the Summer Solstice,  my menu harked back to living in Africa & hot summers travelling in Europe ... 

This is what I made - 

Spatchcock chicken - with a zingy lemon, lime & ginger marinade, it always cooks better this way

New potatoes with lots of mint from the garden to give them that minty summer freshness 

Carrot & pineapple salad with an orange dressing - a summer favourite in Africa, made ahead so it is cold & refreshing. I did not add currants because not everyone eats them 

Green salad with cucumber, mange tout, green beans, tiny pepper rings, feta, radish, home made black pepper & thyme croutons. Salad bits served separately for choice because of guests preferences

Shopska salad (I enjoyed this in Sofia in Bulgaria) diced tomato, cucumber, peppers, red onion, feta, red wine vinaigrette . I added a little honey to take off the sharpness & made it ahead of time for flavours to develop ... 

 

A traditional Bulgarian restaurant & menu in Sofia on our trip across Transylvania. This very traditional restaurant was close to our hotel & it had beautiful authentic decor. 

Shopska salad was regularly served with our meals across Belgrade, Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi 

It was all absolutely delicious & light enough for a very hot summers evening while we mulled over how the first half of the year had been.  No year is without challenges & changes; it is how we ride the storms so they don't engulf us. 

We all agreed that it has been too hot for anything other than lots of salads with meat or fish, with jugs of iced water or tea.  

Pudding / desert was a British classic of Eton Mess. It is strawberry season &  they were just ripe.  

I made a mixed berry compote ahead of time to drizzle over it all & add that softness that is needed. 

All prepared ahead of the time & everyone assembled theirs as they liked. 

We decided on a refreshing mango sorbet instead of ice-cream.  It always looks better served in glass bowls  & these coloured vintage ones are perfect with their deep bowl. 

We took our pudding out on the patio to catch the early evening breeze - easy enough to enjoy outdoors in the cool softening light. 

 We enjoyed my friend's freshly baked lemon drizzle cake to finish it off - a lovely evening just catching up while the candles burnt low. 

The conservatory sideboard is the perfect place to set up & serve such meals from - convenient for everyone to help themselves to what takes their fancy & to return for seconds. 

This space is used the most for meals with its views over the garden & wide doors to catch the breeze too. 

I hope the next 6 months to the Winter Solstice is as blessed for everyone. Thank you for stopping by, each & every visit is appreciated. 

Dee ☀️🥗🏡💚

A colourful supper to start to Summer …

It is a bit of a tradition to embrace bright colours in summer. Ours is so short lived;  the warm days & long nights are a joy after winter. 

I'm having friends join us for supper, not dinner. For me, supper is a relaxed get together with generally only a main & pudding. It is a time to catch up on each others busy lives. Dinner is a bit more formal & is rarer. 

However, I still love to set the table. It was my ‘job’ as a child to set our long dining table for 7 each night or more if friends & grandparents were joining us. Supper was always at the table at home & it was a time to catch up on each others day in the era of no mobile phones.

I digress; pink table cloth & runner, green & pink placemats,  green tinged wine glasses & green glasses & jug that belonged to Olive. 

It is always fun to have lots of candles & my coloured glass ones do very nicely. Taller pink & green holders & smaller tea lights in pink, green & blue -  summery & fun. 

It has been a hot week so the menu is planned for a lighter meal with interesting salads. 

It is strawberry season so Eton mess  & fruit compote will be served in coloured vintage glass bowls. 

I think it is a good choice for a solstice meal that is wholesome without being heavy. 

What would your ideal mid summer meal be?  The updated Solstice menu is blogged here ... Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 🥗☀️🏡🫜

Marking our Summer Solstice …

 And just like that, we have arrived at our summer solstice on the 21st June.  Longer brighter days are here with late sunsets & lazy evenings as the sun is reluctant to set until almost 10pm soon. The darkness is banished for a time & we have to embrace the light & colour. 

My garden is bursting with colour & even though I try to keep to pinks, purples & blues, the reds & hot colours appear too like punctuation marks in the garden. 

It is a space we love being in. Our large tree provides much welcome shade on hot days & cools the air at night so the breeze in the house provides welcome relief. 

This green space is calming & I feel a little smug that I am doing my but for the wildlife who make themselves at home  Green spaces cool urban heat islands so it is great for the environment too.

I made an iced lemon verbena tea today with herbs from the garden & sat in my green space, grateful for blessings. 

On the Solstice, I always reflect on the past 6 months & decide in my head how I want the rest of the year to be. Set intentions as the light returns in its full power for summer. I think having supper by candlelight is always good as the flickering light is gentle & provides space to think. I am hosting friends tomorrow on Solstice Day with fresh food & lots of candles. 

So much can change in the 6 months to the next solstice in the dark mid-winter so use this time to enjoy nature & the longer days, commit to self care & gratitude for all the things that are right in your life. Gratitude begets gratitude. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting. Celebrate the solstices - be it summer or winter where you are. 

Dee 🌱🥗🏡☀️🌤️

The light returns on our Winter Solstice ...

Today marks our shortest day & longest night - the Winter Solstice marks the turning point when our light will slowly return from our deep midwinter. 

I like to celebrate this change & this was previous years ...

2011 

2012

2013 

2014

2017

2018

2020

2022

2023 

It is the time when greenery is welcomed in the home - holly, ivy, mistletoe, logs all signify the connection to nature in the deepest winter nights. 

It is a time to hang garlands on the door & bring greenery & light in to the home, a time for log fires, candles, comfort & joy. 

In times long gone, winter was a time to reflect & be thankful after a busy summer & harvest. The short days signalled to animals to conserve their energy by hibernating & it felt as if time is suspended. A bad harvest for our agrarian ancestors would have been disastrous so they gave thanks for any blessings that came their way, acknowledging their dependency on nature & its fickle ways. 

Our busy lives have little time to rest, reset, restore so this is time to do just that in the lead up to the busy festive season with all the expectations & emotions that brings. Embrace the sleeping, glistening landscape, the pure snows, the quieter times, the warmth of steaming bowls of soup or indulgent hot chocolate wrapped in gloved hands, with steaming breaths in the cold air.  Take in the smells of woods or forests that bring a natural stillness & calming when things start to overwhelm you, when memories become raw ... 

             

Some Anglo Saxon & Norse cultures celebrate Modraniht, Mother's night, the long line of Mothers who came before us & their influence on us. They are the wise & benevolent women ancestors whose wisdom guide us. Stories of grandmothers, great-grandmothers & other women in the family are shared & passed on so their spirit lives on. It is both a solemn & joyous time honoring them. 

My winter simmer pot is ready to give the home a wonderful natural scent of cloves, cinnamon (for success, wealth & abundance), star anise (for healing, luck & clarity),  juniper berries,  rosemary (for protection), sage, lemon grass, lemon & orange (happiness & prosperity & symbolises the return of the sun)

May you welcome in the light again with candles & positive thoughts; in the dark of winter, we make  the light

Dee🕯️🌲🕯️🎄🕯️

A Winter Solstice simmer pot ...

 A simmer pot is a ritual that uses natural winter / yule ingredients in a pot of boiling water to scent the house with fragrances that remind you of winter & the festive season. 

Last year I did this simmer pot with sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon, sprigs of rosemary & sage, star anise, nutmeg & a splash of vanilla. 

This year I had no oranges so I used sliced lemons, fresh sprigs of rosemary (for protection) & sage, some cranberries (for positivity), cloves, star anise (for healing) mace (nutmeg), juniper berries and a cinnamon stick (for success), covered in water & brought gently to the simmer. 

The smell was so welcoming & reminescent of Christmas as it wafted through the house as my friends arrived for supper.  Cloves, mace & star anise epitomise the smells of winter ... 

Simmer pots bring in the magic of woodlands, of fir forests, of the magic of the season without any chemicals or additives in your environment & that is surely a good thing. While it is simmering away, it is a reflective time to relax in to the busyness of the season, to set  your priorities. 

My mission before next December is to find one of those gorgeous glass pots that can be put on the hob with the boiling bits because they look the part. Any suggestions please?  

Thank you for stopping by, leave a comment so I know you have visited, 

Dee 🎄🌲

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

Our Winter Solstice is officially at 03:27 on the 22nd December 2023 when our sun is at its lowest point.  We will have just 7 hours & 42 minutes of sunlight in London. The solstice starts the astronomical winter on the 21st or 22nd of December (the dates change). There is a always a confusion between astronomical & the meteorological winter (1st December - 28th February) 

Solstice means "the sun stood still" from Solstitium in Latin & it seems so on the Winter Solstice which marks our shortest day & longest night of the year.   Our light slowly returns at 4 minutes a day from this midwinters day. 

This is how I marked some previous ones 

2011 solstice 

2012 solstice 

2013 solstice 

2014 solstice 

2017 solstice 

2018 solstice 

2020 solstice 

2022 solstice simmer pot 

It is the time where I bring in more fresh greens like Holly & Ivy, our traditional ones celebrated in the Carol. 

Midwinter was a time when our agrarian ancestors would huddle close to the fire,  observing the changes in nature & conserving food & energy for the long days. Their lives were punctuated by the seasons for survival. A poor, icy winter was fatal to many. 

Candle light brightens up the dark days so I make sure to light a few more to bring in the light. Mid winter is also a time to rest, become more reflective, & to listen more - the silence speaks to those who hear it ... 

Do you pause to reflect on our changing seasons? It is hard to take a step back in Midwinter because it is overtaken by the frenetic pace of the festive season. However, take a few minutes to just be still & reflect on all that is good in your life ... 

Thank you for your visit, 

Dee 🌲🕯️🪴

A Winter Solstice simmer pot

 Hi all, hope you are all managing to find some calm amidst the rush, slow down, take a moment to enjoy the rhythm of nature & the gentle passing of the year ... 

We have reached our shortest day today - the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st December this year & we will have reached the tipping point of Winter.  It is a time I like to connect with nature & to just ground myself amidst the busyness of the festive season. 

This is how I have marked the solstice in previous years at home:  

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2017 

it in 2018 

I am always reminded of the traditional things associated with midwinter - the Carol - In the Bleak midwinter .... 

Charles Dicken's story of A Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge etc

Of the Holly & the Ivy carol - traditional greenery brought in to the home at this time, a pagan tradition that is very apt as most people hang a fresh wreath on their front door & drape holly over picture frames etc. 

Crowds will once again gather at Stonehenge to witness the Winter Solstice as is traditional amongst the pagans here. It is a time honoured tradition ... 

This time I am minded to do a simmer pot to freshen the house with festive scents for Solstice - a sort of cleaning of the air. We do not use any artificial air fresheners so natural fragrances (pomanders, potpourri etc) 

I gathered sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, sprigs of fresh rosemary & sage,  a few star anise, a whole nutmeg and a splash of vanilla & added them to a pot, covered the contents with water, brought it to a gentle simmer, then let the scent waft through the house. This is a traditional method. 

What spices or items would you add that remind you of mid Winter?  Tomorrow I will pick fresh hedgerow Holly & Ivy & bring it in to the house, probably humming a familiar carol as I do that ... 

Thank you for stopping by at this busy time, we have passed the darkest of our winter,  the light returns as every day it will become lighter again. 

Dee ~💕~

Welcoming in the Advent season

Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent 

It is the start of the count down to Christmas, it is also a good time to reflect on the closing of the year; reflection is always useful to make you appreciate what is good; gratitude begets gratitude.  

Even though I am terribly behind with everything having just returned from abroad, my advent candle ring is prepared & ready. I would normally have been out in the hedgerows collecting some winter foliage but that will still come as we approach the solstice & thoughts turn to traditional holly & ivy as the Carol words of old  .... 

These were previous advent times at my home - 

in 2014 

in 2015 - 1st Sunday, 2nd Sunday , 3rd Sunday, 

in 2017 - 3rd Sunday, 

in 2019 -  Advent in Europe 

in 2020 

Happy Advent Sunday all, may the spirit of time be one of peace, friendships, kindness, humility away from the commercialism of the time. Commercialism is something we invented & it is something we fuel - we can each say NO to the excesses at this time and remember it is actually a time of family togetherness & reflection.  

Advent also serves to give purpose to this time of waiting, to slow down the rush to Christmas, to give each week a meaning & to remind us to keep it real amidst the adverts for perfection. 

I will be following the traditional candle colours this year 

First candle - purple for HOPE 

Second candle - purple for LOVE

Third candle - pink for JOY

Fourth candle - purple for PEACE 

Fifth candle on Christmas eve - ivory for CHRISTMAS

Today we had home made pancakes for breakfast as we lit the first candle - the sideboard has a few festive items, it will be added to as I get more organised. The sideboard in the conservatory always has things on it that will be used at various times so it is a great space close to our long 12 seater table. 

The warm red & gold colours bring warmth to the shorter, darker days, the candles bring in light & I am seldom without a candle burning at this time; the low light needs extra help. 

However you observe the changes to the season, be blessed this Advent Sunday, 

Dee ~💕~

Happy Summer Solstice

 Today marks our longest day,  & is an important part of the ritual of time. The sun will rise at 4.52am  and set at 9.26pm, giving us 16 hours & 38 minutes of sunlight / daylight.  

The Solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical summer. The word ‘solstice’ comes from the latin word meaning ‘sun standing still’ which is a good description of how the day will seem to hang around. 

Pagans mark this day, often at Stonehenge because they believe mid summer has special significance.  

People used to light fires to keep the dark & bad spirits away.

Some of the folklore sayings associated with mid summer

One swallow never made a summer

When the summer birds take flight, there goes the summer with them

Welcome summer, the long days & short nights are very welcome after a long winter. 

Some previous blogs on this day:

summer solstice 2015

I will light candles tonight for my light, unfortunately there is no sun today which would have given us brightness. 

However, this weekend we have been out taking photos of very summery scenes in Shropshire - the poppy & daisies in the fields 

Beautiful, lush green fields amongst green trees 

Thank you for your time; each & every visit & comment is much appreciated, be safe all  💖

Dee ~💕~