As the saying goes The King is dead, long live the King.  This line resonates with me particularly at the moment as we are thinking and talking about, as we ll as celebrating, the winter solstice.  I’ve been reading this story with Huwyl about the death and rebirth of the Sun King, it is a really special rendering and ties in well with the story I’ve been telling him since he was being carried around on my back.

This was the first time it really  sank in rather than being something I said for my own benefit; he asked questions about how it worked and what would happen next.  I explained that the sun would be weak for a while as he is just a baby now, but  by spring he’d be getting stronger and by the summer he would be at his most powerful.  I talked about the cycle of the year, the dark and the light, the times of balance and the times of heat and cold.  I answered the questions when I could and let the mysteries stand when I couldn’t.  I could see that the magic of it all awed him a little, yet when we talked about how to celebrate the suggestions were very tangible.  A cake for the Sun King, what a great idea!

The recipe is the Six Minute Moosewood Cake, I found a reference to it on Heather’s blog and it worked like a charm!  As well as being delicious it is vegan so great for anyone who doesn’t want dairy, plus I have a personal belief that anything vegan is calorie free so even more enjoyment to be had!   The boys really enjoyed ‘helping’ and we had the fun of sharing our treat with friends who dropped by for a bit of tea and a pre-christmas present exchange.  Today we’ll be celebrating solstice eve with a candle and a piece of cake; there is ice rain outside so a cosy day with favourite movies has been the order of the day.  Tomorrow, the pagan New Year, will see us at a party at Neirin’s preschool and an afternoon of friends joining us for yet more cake.  Now that’s what I call celebrating.

On the winter solstice last year this land became officially ours, a lot has changed since then.  I can’t help reflecting on how much we’ve achieved in such a short time, no wonder we are all so exhausted!  This year christmas time is about recharging, peaceful time with family and friends, looking at what we’ve achieved and knowing that there is more goodness to come this year.  While our celebrations have been small, a cake, some sofa time, a few festive stories by the fire or snuggled in bed, it has felt right for us now.

And really that’s what counts.  Wishing everyone a peaceful and abundant New Year, bright blessings to you and your families!