winter solstice

In all of our discussions, reading, research and personal history and experience, we've come to the conclusion that the most important part of celebrating festivals and marking the passage and holy days of the year is in the gathering.
This year for Solstice we came together with family and friends for a cookie exchange party and play time with crafts and snacks for the children.  If you've not experienced a cookie exchange before, it's a really lovely holiday idea.  We each baked four dozen of our favorite cookie and set them out in a delicious display.  From the selection, we equally divided up all the different assortments so that we all ended up taking home the same amount that we each brought, except in a scrumptious eclectic variety!  We then took these collections of goodness home to gobble up or perhaps re-package and gift out to family, friends or neighbors.  It's a great way to get a delicious assortment of home made goodies without buying ingredients for all the different sorts.





The children, to celebrate the return of the sun, rolled beeswax candles and made pomander satsumas (oranges being a bit tough for their small hands to pierce with the cloves).  Many thanks to our friends Patricia and Lisa for bringing these warm, wonderful, sweet smelling activities to our celebration.