Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for All ... - reading...

256 Creating Circles & Ceremonies
A Celebration of Light
(An Interfaith Solstice/Yule Celebration)
Developed by the CUUPS group of First Unitarian Society of Denver,
the Insight Buddhist Meditation Group of Denver, and Rev. Joan Van Becelaere.
Candles for the New Year/Yule Log Ritual
(For the Yule Log, you need a nice looking log, about 18 inches long and about 4 inches
or more in diameter. Drill three holes in it—votive candle or tea light holder size if
possible, or smaller for taper candles. You can decorate the log, but beware that nothing
is too near the candles. (Experience proves that it is more than a bit disconcerting if the
decorations catch on fire during the ritual.) Place multiple tea lights in holders or multiple
votive candles around the log. Or you can use a large bowl filled with sand and plant
small tapers into the sand as they are lit.)
This is the time of the solstice, the longest, darkest night of the year. Being without light
is one of the most unsettling of experiences for those of us who have become accustomed to
living with the gift of electricity. To be in the dark is to be disoriented, without a sense of
direction. (Turn off the lights.)
At the Solstice, the darkness triumphs, and yet gives way and changes into light. The
breath of nature is suspended: all wait while the darkness is transformed into the reborn
light. We watch for the coming of dawn, the bringer of hope, and the promise of the summer.
Even though we live in a time of modern conveniences, a time of electricity and central
heating, we still yearn for the light and warmth of the sun. The Wheel of the Year turns to
bring us the light. The word “yule” means “wheel.” As the wheel turns, we call upon the
sun, reborn from the womb of night.
To welcome and strengthen the reborn light at the new year, it is custom to burn the Yule
Log on Solstice night. This evening, instead of burning the log, we will light its three candles:
The first candle is to honor the year that is past. It leaves us with all of its memories—
good and bad, happy and sorrowful. We light this candle to symbolize, to honor, to celebrate
the ways, great and small, that each of us has triumphed over forces that would have us
abandon our beliefs, give up our faith, or lose our identity.
The middle candle is the light of the present, the moment of change and rebirth of the life
force. It honors the now, this moment of transformation.
The last candle is for the new year, for life reborn and growth of peace and love. We
light it to honor hope and the anticipated future. At the solstice and the coming of the new
year, the past, present, and future are all layered upon each other and intertwined.
If you have a joy or concern for the year that is past, for the present, or the year to come,
please come forward, share it with us, and light a candle to honor your joy or concern.
227. Deepest, Darkest, Longest Night
Deepest darkest longest night
Gather round the fire bright
Singing power unto the sun
Rise again when morning comes!
Deepest darkest longest night
Gather round the fire bright
Deep inside we face our fears
Feel our pain and cry our tears!
—Ayisha Homolka
228. T he Turning Song
The Sky has gone dark, the winter is deep;
Our season of cold is reaching its peak.
The stars have gone out, the greyness is
here;
The bottom has come, the turning is near.
The wheel has stopped, it turns not at all;
Oh spirit begin a new cycle for all!
The wheel will turn, the season will too;
The sun will restore his blessing to you.
—Tom Bruce, 2002