By Aeron Nicholas
Generally speaking, the land has its own traditions and customs.
All of us who return to the land discover in our own time the nature of such traditions.
Before this discovery can take place we must examine closely the traditions of the culture that shapes us.
The secular corporate holiday season is the holiday season of my upbringing so that is the one I examined.
After realizing how the holiday I “celebrated” all my life revolved around consumerism, Judeo-Chrisitian overtones sanitized of its animist roots, and the omission of the very basis of the holiday season—Nature’s rhythm—in my own way I felt compelled to reconnect with the significance of the Solsticetide. What existed before industry and corporatism hijacked the winter solstice?
Rustication provided a perfect opportunity for me to not only explore an alternative to corporate xmas, but to also apply it.
Winter Solstice traditions exist all over the world, the themes of which don’t seem to differ much. The journey of the sun, the victory over darkness, the rebirth of the sun, and other motifs are all indicative of a prolific Nature tradition common among the human family since time immemorial.
If you descend from the Celtic lot, perhaps the Yule tradition might speak to you. Pre-Roman or Etruscan descent? La Festa dell’ Inverno. Many Persians celebrate Yalda Night.
There is a wealth of inspiration draw from, and so many ways you can reinvent the holiday season in a way that both creates meaning, and honours the earth, our ancestors, and our loved ones.
The rusticator is a meaning-maker, after all!
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