You know… setting aside any other objections I might have to the Solstice celebrations (which I certainly don’t want to rehash), there’s one part of this that I could never relate to:
Winter feels like a time of huddling in the darkness, drawing people close. I want to be reminded that the light will return, that I’m not alone.
Summer… I just want to enjoy the light. June 22nd, I just want to be out in the woods with friends, having a picnic or throwing a frisbee.
In the winter, I want to be outside! In the snow! Throwing snowballs, or taking hikes or nature walks, or just enjoying the beautiful, cold, winter weather!
Whereas in the summer, I just want to be inside, where it’s cool, and dark, and the air-conditioning and the drawn shades protect me from the sun.
Surely, there are others who feel the same…? (For instance, doesn’t a group excursion out to the Catskills, in the dead of winter, sound like fun? Eh?)
Certainly seems fair – I don’t think the particular bundle of themes and qualities of Winter-Solstice-as-depicted-by-Raemon is the only or best thing to have converged on, just one locally optimal* hill to climb.
*where by “optimal” I mean “not at all optimal, but we’ve climbed high enough that I can see the summit.”
I doubt it quite addresses your concern, but I will note for now that I’ve since experimented with outdoor Winter Solstices that are much more “hike through the woods to a beautiful sacred place, and then huddle up around a fire”. I think this style of Solstice scales less easily but has a different locally-optimal-aesthetic.
I reposted this essay in large part because I now disagree with it, and in a couple days plan to post my new opinions. (Which, unlike Winter Solstice in the Woods, probably would not especially match your aesthetic)
I don’t think the particular bundle of themes and qualities of Winter-Solstice-as-depicted-by-Raemon is the only or best thing to have converged on, just one locally optimal* hill to climb.
…
I doubt it quite addresses your concern, but I will note for now that I’ve since experimented with outdoor Winter Solstices that are much more ″hike through the woods to a beautiful sacred place, and then huddle up around a fire″. I think this style of Solstice scales less easily but has a different locally-optimal-aesthetic.
Yeah, that’s definitely a good point. One can do the “huddle around a fire” thing in any indoor space, whereas to hike through the woods, it’s a whole big deal… still, seems good to keep in mind what regions of doing-things-together-space are currently underserved—because then you can spot opportunities to rectify that lack, when they arise!
You know… setting aside any other objections I might have to the Solstice celebrations (which I certainly don’t want to rehash), there’s one part of this that I could never relate to:
In the winter, I want to be outside! In the snow! Throwing snowballs, or taking hikes or nature walks, or just enjoying the beautiful, cold, winter weather!
Whereas in the summer, I just want to be inside, where it’s cool, and dark, and the air-conditioning and the drawn shades protect me from the sun.
Surely, there are others who feel the same…? (For instance, doesn’t a group excursion out to the Catskills, in the dead of winter, sound like fun? Eh?)
Certainly seems fair – I don’t think the particular bundle of themes and qualities of Winter-Solstice-as-depicted-by-Raemon is the only or best thing to have converged on, just one locally optimal* hill to climb.
*where by “optimal” I mean “not at all optimal, but we’ve climbed high enough that I can see the summit.”
I doubt it quite addresses your concern, but I will note for now that I’ve since experimented with outdoor Winter Solstices that are much more “hike through the woods to a beautiful sacred place, and then huddle up around a fire”. I think this style of Solstice scales less easily but has a different locally-optimal-aesthetic.
I reposted this essay in large part because I now disagree with it, and in a couple days plan to post my new opinions. (Which, unlike Winter Solstice in the Woods, probably would not especially match your aesthetic)
Yeah, that’s definitely a good point. One can do the “huddle around a fire” thing in any indoor space, whereas to hike through the woods, it’s a whole big deal… still, seems good to keep in mind what regions of doing-things-together-space are currently underserved—because then you can spot opportunities to rectify that lack, when they arise!