the shortest day

I woke at 6 am this morning to the repeated sound of a great horned owl in our woods. The waning full moon shone in the window creating yellow patterns on the  wooden floor.  How could I not get up in the dark lit by the moon and put the kettle on for a cup of tea?  After doing some writing, I checked The Writer's Almanac which arrives in my email every morning and read what I have pasted in below. I try not to miss a chance to notice what is happening beyond the world of people and Christmas craziness (so many cars, so much frenzy!) 

The earth turns and rotates on its axis, the days will grow longer starting tomorrow, we can look forward to brighter days by February.  Christmas  Day provides a time out from a busy world. It is a time to listen for the owl and each other. May we all listen below the surface of our words to deep knowing.

 Listen, Pause and then Speak.

 We've got plenty of time.

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In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history. 

Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of midwinter sun.

Some ancient peoples believed that because daylight was waning, it might go away forever, so they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back. The tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year is passed down from those ancient bonfires. In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday.

Henry David Thoreau said: "In winter we lead a more inward life. Our hearts are warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends."