As someone who has accepted the tags of atheist and humanist to sort myself, there has been the nagging reality of going through the “holidays” as a bystander of other sorts. Also as someone who adores Winter and the snowy seasons, for secular and humanist reasons, I am endorsing the practice of Wintermas this year.
It is convenient that there are 12 days to Wintermas which makes the concept familiar to anyone who knows about the 12 Days of Xmas. Starting with the Winter Solstice on December 20, I’ve plotted 12 days of activities in honor of the season, that culminates on New Years Eve. My first try at what traditions and activities might fit into this 12 days of Wintermas go like this:
- Dec 20- A night hike, recognizing the darkness of the shortest day of the year.
- Dec 21- A day hike (if possible as you may work day time hours, which at the start of Winter are few), or candle/yule log lighting in the home, recognizing the beginning of the return journey of the sun to its zenith.
- Dec 22- A trip to a local bookstore. A chance to go inward through the practice of reading and to share the practice with others. Acquiring books on this day for gift exchanges, if you are participating in such, and for reading on December 25th as an alternative to xmas holiday spectacle activities.
- Dec 23- Choose your own Winter adventure – ice skating, skiing, sledding – with friends if possible.
- Dec 24- Decorating home with greenery and baking cookies or other treats together.
- Dec 25 – As this is often a day off from work for many people as a federal holiday in the States, the day can be drawn out with multiple activities, I envision the following – Home cooking a seasonal and bioregional dinner together, followed by a neighborhood walk, with an evening book exchange and reading together in front of the fire with festive drinks of your choice!
- Dec 26 – Is commonly celebrated as Boxing Day, historically derived from the concepts of rest for the working class after the xmas holiday, and the giving of alms (collected in boxes) or gifts (in boxes no doubt) to those in need. For some, whom I plan to follow, this day is now one that includes cleaning out the closets and drawers, and decluttering the house, with the resulting boxes of goods being donated to charity.
- Dec 27- Soup with Neighbors. A chance to have a simpler meal after the holidays, perhaps using up the last of the leftovers that one may not know what to do with, a homemade soup that is hopefully light on the stomach and light on the clean-up hopefully as well, and a chance to share with neighbors in an exchange of good will.
- Dec 28- Choose your own Winter adventure – ice skating, skiing, sledding – with friends if possible.
- Dec 29- Put-Up Sharing Social (Share your preserves, tinctures, canned salsas and sauces, dried fruits, etc from your seasonal preservations)
- Dec 30- Harvest of a yule log for next year. Actively scouting and felling a tree, that is harvested and brought home to the wood pile where it is prepared and seasoned dry for burning next year on the 1st day of Winter.
- Dec 31- Twelfth Night Activities (Cultural or Ethnic or Modern) – i.e. Italian Panettone and hot chocolate; Polish sauerkraut and sausages at midnight; bonfire; dance party – photos
- NOTE: some of the activities are keyed to certain days, like the night hike on the last day of autumn, or boxing day for examples, but others could be moved around to whatever day fits. And of course, you might want to add your own ideas to the list, some other recommendations I’ve had from folks include stargazing, picture roll year review on a big screen with popcorn, special events such as HumanLight – see https://www.cute-calendar.com/event/humanlight/37623.html
The overall goal, hopefully apparent from the list, is to incorporate seasonal nature, friends & family, and food & fun into the “holiday season” in a secular way. I will follow up with how each day goes, what was learned or experienced, and in the meantime, would love to hear your ideas for celebrating #Wintermas in the comments below.
I’m reposting this series from 2022 here on this new blog website in 2023. Likely there won’t be new commentary, just a transfer and resurfacing of the posts from last year.
