The light has returned in a quiet midwinter way. A week ago, December 21, the winter Solstice came and went without fanfare. The sun quietly crossed the celestial equator and entered the Northern Hemisphere, bringing longer days.

The Solstice is worth celebrating. Prior to Amazon and Netflix winter was something to survive. How many winters you lived through counted age. No one was sure the sun was ever coming back and when it did communal celebrations and fires broke out.

Since Christianity kidnapped the equinox, blinking LED lights replaced blazing fires and Turkey, roast-beef, oysters, and pizza took the place of wild game. It makes me wonder if modern-day holiday excess is a reaction to the starvation and poverty our ancestors experienced a century ago.

Commercialism and gluttony aside, the most important quality of Midwinter Celebrations is the need to commune during the darkest, coldest part of the year, may it be the Solstice, Christmas, Kwanza or Hanukah. We want to gather with loved ones, share a meal, and give each other gifts. The birth of Christ, the sun, the fires, LED lights, and candles are really just symbols for our longing to find the light within.