Indigenous Wisdom on the Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice: A Reflection of Creation
By Nati Garcia
For millennia, the change in celestial time has been a mystery and a celebration in many cultures around the world. In the Mayan world, Maya communities incorporated solar calendars into the design of their cities.
The Kukulkan temple in Chichen Itza, Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec god of the sun and wind that emerges during the spring equinox are just a few examples of the relationship Maya people have with the universe. The winter and summer solstices are a time of celebration for many Indigenous communities around the globe, who are impacted by the shift of the season. Mayan Peoples celebrate them as a change in their crops, the beginning of something new, and a moment to connect with the greater spirits of the universe. In the nations of the northern hemisphere, offerings and ceremonies are held.
In Indigenous worldviews, we experience the Earth's motions within ourselves where ceremonies and celebrations are interwoven with all our living relatives and relatives of the universe. We honor the cycles of decay and birth as the Earth rotates, passing from one season to another because it affects our bodies and relationship with all our relatives.
On this day in the northern hemisphere, the shortest period of sunlight occurs. It is a moment to settle into the bedding of the Earth, tucked beneath the layers of the cold darkness, and to draw in the warmth of the breath to share stories.
Storytelling is most prominent during this dark period as it sparks the imagination, generates laughter and truthR, and warms the heart, mind, and spirit. As the creatures hibernate, stories emerge to pay homage to the animals. It is also a time to sing, dance, and hold feasts and ceremonies with the community, calling in the sacredness and aligning our minds, hearts, and spirits as the sun aligns with the Earth in a circular motion.
Winter solstice also marks a beginning, when the warmth and light gradually increase each day to welcome the cycle of the next season. It is a moment to reflect inward with intention and gratitude for the harvest produced during the warmer days and give thanks to the ancestors for guiding this process of nourishment. We welcome together the motions of the Earth and come together as a community to renew our spirits and honor all our relations, giving thanks to the creator for its gifts, and preparing for the new agricultural cycle.
Exploring the Solar System through Indigenous Winter Solstice Traditions
RosalynLapier.com
On the day of winter solstice, many Native American communities will hold religious ceremonies or community events. The winter solstice is the day of the year when the Northern Hemisphere has the fewest hours of sunlight, and the Southern Hemisphere has the most. For Indigenous peoples, it has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. They passed their knowledge down to successive generations through complex stories and ritual practices. As a scholar of the environmental and Native American religion, I believe, there is much to learn from ancient religious practices.
Ancient architecture: For decades, scholars have studied the astronomical observations that ancient indigenous people made and sought to understand their meaning. One such place was at Cahokia, near the Mississippi River in what is now Illinois across from St. Louis. In Cahokia, Indigenous people built numerous temple pyramids or mounds, similar to the structures built by the Aztecs in Mexico, over a thousand years ago. Among their constructions, what most stands out is an intriguing structure made up of wooden posts arranged in a circle, known today as "Woodhenge." To understand the purpose of Woodhenge, scientists watched the sun rise from this structure on winter solstice. What they found was telling: The sun aligned with both Woodhenge and the top of a temple mound—a temple built on top of a pyramid with a flat top—in the distance. They also found that the sun aligns with a different temple mound on summer solstice. Archaeological evidence suggests that the people of Cahokia venerated the sun as a deity. Scholars believe that ancient Indigenous societies observed the solar system carefully and wove that knowledge into their architecture. Scientists have speculated that the Cahokia held rituals to honor the sun as a giver of life and for the new agricultural year.
Complex understandings: Zuni Pueblo is a contemporary example of indigenous people with an agricultural society in western New Mexico. They grow corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and more. Each year they hold annual harvest festivals and numerous religious ceremonies, including at the winter solstice. At the time of the winter solstice they hold a multiday celebration, known as the Shalako festival. The days for the celebration are selected by the religious leaders. The Zuni are intensely private, and most events are not for public viewing. But what is shared with the public is near the end of the ceremony, when six Zuni men dress up and embody the spirit of giant bird deities. These men carry the Zuni prayers for rain "to all the corners of the earth." The Zuni deities are believed to provide "blessings" and "balance" for the coming year.
"The Zuni believe their ceremonies are necessary not just for the well-being of the tribe, but for the entire world." (Tisa Wenger, 2022)
Winter games: Not all Indigenous peoples ritualized the winter solstice with a ceremony. But that doesn't mean they didn't find other ways to celebrate. The Blackfeet tribe in Montana, where I am a member, historically kept a calendar of astronomical events. They marked the time of the winter solstice and the "return" of the sun or "Naatosi" on its annual journey. They also faced their tipis—or portable conical tents—east toward the rising sun. They rarely held large religious gatherings in the winter. Instead the Blackfeet viewed the time of the winter solstice as a time for games and community dances. As a child, my grandmother enjoyed attending community dances at the time of the winter solstice. She remembered that each community held their own gatherings, with unique drumming, singing and dance styles.
Dazzling light: Rubén Mendoza, an archaeologist at California State University, Monterey Bay, made an accidental discovery years ago at a mission church. In this worship space and many others that Catholic missionaries built during the Spanish colonial period, the winter solstice “triggers an extraordinary rare and fascinating event,” he explained: “a sunbeam enters each of these churches and bathes an important religious object, altar, crucifix or saint’s statue in brilliant light.”
Winter solstice illumination: tabernacle of the Spanish Royal Presidio Chapel, Santa Barbara, CA
These missions were built to convert Native Americans to Catholicism – people whose cultures had already, for thousands of years, celebrated the solstice Sun’s seeming victory over darkness. Yet the missions incorporated those traditions in a new way, channeling the Sun’s symbolism into a Christian message. “These events offer us insights into archaeology, cosmology and Spanish colonial history,”
Victory over Darkness
Our next story goes halfway around the world, describing the Persian solstice festival of Yalda. But it’s also an American story. Growing up in Minneapolis, anthropologist Pardis Mahdavi explained, she felt a bit left out as neighbors celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas. That’s when her grandmother introduced her to their family’s Yalda traditions. Millions of people around the world celebrate Yalda, which marks the sunrise after the longest night of the year. “Ancient Persians believed that evil forces were strongest on the longest and darkest night of the year,” wrote Mahdavi, who is now provost at the University of Montana. Families stayed up throughout the night, snacking and telling stories, then celebrating “as the light spilled through the sky in the moment of dawn.”
Jasmin Merdan/Moment via Getty Images
Today, our family still spends the darkest days of winter playing card games and attending community dances, much like our grandparents did. Although some winter solstice traditions have changed over time, they are still a reminder of Indigenous peoples understanding of the intricate and eternal workings of the universe.
As our own December holidays approach, they demonstrate the power of our instincts to guide us through the darkness toward the light.
Join us in supporting spiritual practices and celebrations on this sacred day of the Winter Solstice
