Winter solstice rituals on December 22nd

This year the winter solstice will be celebrated on the night of December 22nd. This is the shortest day of the year and therefore the night of December 22, 2023 is the darkest night of the year. From then on the days will get longer again and nature will become brighter again. We would like to show you how you can accompany this special day with beautiful rituals.

The winter solstice represents new beginnings

The winter solstice marks the turning point towards the light. No other day of the year is dark for as long as the day of the winter solstice. In Nordic countries the sun is (almost) not visible on this day. In Central Europe it takes place on December 21st or 22nd. In 2023, the winter solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) occurs at 4:27 am. On this day it is dark for almost 15 hours. The winter solstice marks the transition to the brighter half of the year. The next few months are characterized by longer days, until the summer solstice.

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How the winter solstice affects us

The turn towards brighter times helps many to look forward to the times ahead. Gone are the dark days, the Christmas period, the end of the year and, even if it’s still a while away, spring is coming soon. At the latest when nature comes back to life, our strengths will also awaken. There is absolutely no problem if in these dark times you want to retreat a little, make yourself comfortable at home and desire peace and relaxation. Despite modern homes, warm heating and electric lighting, depression is more common in winter than in summer. Before industrialization it would have been unthinkable to work before 8am or after 4pm at this time of year. People lived and worked according to the natural daily rhythm. If you listen to your internal clock and feel it longing for peace and contemplation, you can allow this to happen. The energy will return by spring at the latest.

Inspirations in our wild herbs magazine

Nature gives us many fantastic medicinal plants. We would like to raise awareness of medicinal plants and inspire with simple and natural recipes. We will show you this in the current winter issue of Kräuterkeller magazine (available here) our favorite recipes. The magazine is available in both digital and printed versions in our small herbal medicine shop www.die-moderne-Kräuterhexe.de available.

Rituals for the winter solstice

• Natural light in the apartment

Candles are omnipresent during Advent. On the Advent wreath or on the table: natural candle light is good for us. So it’s a good idea to consciously light a nice candle on dark days that might have a pleasant scent that you like.

• Smoking on the winter solstice

Smoking plays a big role these days. The ritual can also accompany us on the winter solstice. Smoking mixes are particularly suitable for the winter solstice mugwortincense, mistletoe or elecampane. In this blog you will find More articles on smoking can be found here.

The winter solstice is the ideal opportunity to sing with your family or alone. Singing is good for the soul. It doesn’t have to be a Christmas song, it can simply be your favorite song or a song that reminds you of spring and light.

The winter solstice can be made intentionally cozy. How about taking some time to read a good book or essay. It is advisable to prefer topics that have to do with nature, love or light. You can also read beautiful poems or aphorisms, or do some creative work and use this day for your creative thoughts. At this point we feel like recommending our book «With wild herbs and medicinal plants all year round“(available here). With this book you can prepare yourself optimally for the upcoming wild herb season, but also find out which wild herbs are still available to harvest in winter. We have photographed and portrayed many local wild herbs in over 160 pages. In every season there is something to discover and collect. Helpful tips for the medicine cabinet and kitchen are included. You can purchase the book in our herbal medicine shop www.die-moderne-Kräuterhexe.de

• Vitamin D: the sunshine vitamin

If the current times are getting on your nerves, if you are often ill and have the feeling that your strength is decreasing, you should ask yourself whether you could have one Vitamin D the lack suffers. This is a common deficiency in our latitudes in winter. A blood test from your doctor can help. You can learn more about the topic in the article “JWe all need vitamin D in winter«Laws.

• Welcome the light

The dark and difficult days are behind us. It’s time to look forward and look forward to brighter days. The day of the winter solstice is the ideal day to think about what awaits you in the coming months. A nice ritual is to write down these thoughts and desires, perhaps even in the form of a poem or a diary? This form of self-reflection and contemplation has two functions. You write down positive and hopeful thoughts and at the same time become aware of what you want to achieve in the coming months.

An excellent herbal tea or a delicious herbal tea goes well with winter temperatures Rosehip tea marvelous. For your favorite ritual, prepare a delicious tea that you like. Here wild plants and grasses can sustain us. Rosehip is rich in vitamin C, but ginger, cistus and annual mugwort are also very invigorating. In our post»Properly prepare rosehip teaWe will tell you our tip for a delicious rosehip tea.

Gift ideas for Christmas

In our herbalist’s shop we have put together several sets to give as gifts (or give away). With the Herbal witch set (available here) you will receive our seasonal calendar and our book “With wild herbs and medicinal plants all year round” including our set of “Herb witch” postcards at a discounted price. With the Discovery set for the whole family (available here) you will receive the book, the seasonal calendar and our discovery book for children «Ben and Mara discover the world of wild herbs“(available here). In this children’s book, Ben and Mara experience nature’s changes through the seasons. You’ll learn about local wild herbs and discover how to use them for amazing recipes, like this one Wild herb wafflescan use. After the hand-drawn story, there is a child-friendly wild herb encyclopedia where all the wild herbs that appear in the book are shown and explained. In the third chapter we have collected tips and recipes that are easy to follow for children. You can purchase the book and sets in our online witch’s herb shop www.die-moderne-Kräuterhexe.de

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