As the time of the winter solstice approached, I found myself with too much to do and barely enough time to do it all.  I wanted to clear up a backlog of papers to grade and get my holiday shopping done so that I could spend some of the two-plus weeks of Christmas vacation time re-focusing myself on my spirituality.  Things were looking pretty good . . . and then, with a little less than a week to go before solstice, our glorious and long-lasting autumn gave way suddenly and decisively to winter with days of snow and bitingly cold temperatures. 

 

Just in time for the solstice, Seattle ground to a virtual halt.  I had made plans to take part in a solstice celebration scheduled for last Sunday at the local Unitarian church (for now, Unitarianism is the public face of my Earth-centered spirituality), but as the snow continued to pile up over two days of non-stop precipitation, I could see how foolish it would be to try to be there for it.  (As it turned out, though, the service was cancelled anyway out of concern for the safety of those who would need to travel any distance in order to take part.)  I had also planned to do some power shopping for holiday gifts for family and friends, but that has had to be scaled back quite a bit due to dicey driving conditions. 

 

So right now, I’m sort of standing still.  I’ve been most grateful for the internet and the fact that we have not lost power due to our current weather situation, as it means that I have been able to continue getting input from all of you talented and generous Pagan bloggers out there as you have shared your knowledge of Yule, your understanding of customs and culture associated with it, and your ideas, plans, pictures, and reflections of your own solstice celebrations.  I have also prepared my family for a much simpler Yule celebration, warning that there may be some IOUs and “virtual gifts” under the tree this year!