24 Days of Martin – Day 21: The Winter Solstice

The Red Nutcrackers were victorious!  They could finally start their long trek home.  General #97 called for a marching formation.  The soldiers fell in line quickly, anxious to be on their way.  General #42 was about to call out the order for the men to begin marching when the ground shook.  Several of the soldiers swayed and bumped into each other.  The ground shook again, this time slightly stronger and longer.  Soldiers fell onto the ground, and the supply wagons lost their top boxes.  General #97 and General #42 looked at each other: worry, confusion, and anger in both their faces.  The ground shook harder while both Generals ordered everyone to get down.  

The shaking continued.  Soon, it was followed by a soft “Martin.  Martin, it’s time to get up.  It’s the Winter Solstice.  Get up, sleepy bones.  Time to rise and shine!” Mom’s gentle shaking became playful pushes, and soon she was tickling and poking.

Martin opened his eyes, slowly blinking as the fallen soldiers became fuzzy in his mind.  “Mom?”, a groggy Martin mumbled.  “What are you doing?  I wanna stay in bed!”, his voice becoming clearer as he became more awake.

“Today is the Winter Solstice!” grinned Mom.  “Do you know what that means?”  

“It means pancakes and hot chocolate!” laughed Martin as he fully woke up.  He had no idea what his Mom was talking about, but if she was grinning and excited, he might as well try and get pancakes for breakfast.

Mom laughed.  “Ok, you can have pancakes along with hot chocolate.” She stood up to let Martin get out of bed.  “You can even have extra mini-marshmallows this morning.”

Not needing to be told twice, Martin hopped out of bed and started towards the bathroom.  Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he told Mom he’d meet her in the kitchen when he was done.

The warm water felt good on his skin as Martin washed his face.  He turned the tap to cool the temperature, splashing the cold water on his face as a final pick-me-up to start his day.

He remembered the holiday stories Mom and Dad told him. Most of them involved the Winter Solstice, but he hadn’t realized it was a real calendar day.  With a clean face, Martin headed into the kitchen.

Martin stood in the kitchen door and saw Mom standing at the counter with a mixing bowl, getting pancake batter ready.  Dad was reading the news on his phone and drinking some juice.  The kitchen smelled like coffee and bacon.  Martin took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, letting out a long “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh that smells good!”

“Good morning!” said Dad as he turned over his phone and set it down.  “How did you sleep?”

“I feel great, so I must have slept good.” answered Martin, sitting down while picking up his glass to drink some juice.  

“Good to hear,” smiled Dad.  “A good night of sleep is the best way to start the day.”

Martin giggled.  Dad was always saying things like this.  “Mom says we can have pancakes and hot chocolate this morning!” 

“Hear Ye!!  Here Ye!! I now proclaim it: Pancake Sunday!”, cried Dad, standing up with his juice glass held high above his head.“  

Mom and Martin exchanged a glance, and both burst out laughing.

“If you learn how to make pancakes and help make them and clean up,” Mom said, looking from Dad to Martin and back to Dad again, she held her own juice glass up, “Here! Here! I agree on Pancake Sunday!”

Martin fell out of his chair laughing.

He clamored back into his chair, still chuckling, and took a big drink of juice.  “I thought Mom said today was the Winter Solstice.  I’m glad we’re getting pancakes, but what does today mean?  I thought the Winter Solstice was the month of December, and depending on when crops were harvested and how bad the weather was decided when Winter Solstice festivities began.”

Dad had gotten up from the table to get a cup of coffee.  He poured himself a cup and then one for Mom.  “The Winter Solstice festivities did depend on crops and weather, but the Winter Solstice is an actual day.  There are even ancient monuments, like Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England, and some of the pyramids in Egypt, which are built to showcase the sunrise and sunset of the Winter Solstice.  There is even one in New Hampshire, which includes stones aligned with the sun and moon, along with others laid out like a compass.  It’s an accurate calendar for solar and lunar events.”

“Today is December 21st,” mused Martin.  “So every December 21st is the Winter solstice?” he asked.

“The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year and takes place when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the sun. It can be December 21 or December 22.” Dad explained while stirring his coffee.

Mom placed a plate of pancakes on the table and took up the conversation, “Solstice is Latin and means ‘sun stands still’ because several days before and after the solstice, the sun appears to rise and set in the same place on the horizon.”

Martin, with a bite of pancake in his mouth, asked, “Why is this a big deal for us?  Why did you wake me up?”

“It’s the shortest day of the year!  We have to see how much we can do before the sun sets!”, declared Dad.

Martin slumped.  “That sounds like we have a lot of chores to do today.  Is this going to be like spring cleaning, where we have to pull everything out, dust it, vacuum, then put everything back?” he said glumly. “I was tricked with pancakes,” he frowned.

Mom and Dad both started laughing.  “No,” they laughed together.   “Today is all about moving from the darkness into the light and celebrating the return of spring.  Now that I think about it, I think today should be the day we mark our new year resolutions.  Today is the shortest day of the year, tomorrow starts a new year of longer days and shorter nights,” said Mom.

​Martin tilted his head, thinking. “But Mom, why make resolutions today? I thought New Year’s was January 1st?”

​“Well,” Dad said, leaning forward, “January 1st is the day the calendar says the year starts. But today is the day the Earth says the year starts. From this moment on, the sun stays a little longer every single day. Nature is starting its new chapter today, so it feels like the right time for us to start ours, too.”

“Makes sense,” thought Martin. “What should our resolutions be?”

“Resolutions can be anything,” said Mom.  “New year, or new Earth resolutions, are about reflecting on the past year and seeing how the new year can be better. You can plan to start something new; make a promise to yourself to try and be better at something; set a goal for yourself.”  

“Renewal Resolutions!  What a great idea!” Dad chimed in.  “And speaking of renewal, I picked up some pinecones so we could make bird feeder balls.  I also thought we could string up some popcorn chains to hang on the trees outside alongside the feeder balls.”

“The birds and smaller animals will enjoy a snack to help them through winter,” smiled Mom.  ​”You know,” Mom continued, “long ago, people didn’t have colorful lights. They used things from nature, like these pinecones and popcorn chains placed on evergreen boughs, to celebrate the Solstice. Eventually, those traditions became part of the Christmas we celebrate today.”

“Spider webs as tinsel!  I remember from a couple of weeks ago!” blurted Martin.  “And those don’t sound like chores!  Those sound like fun!” exclaimed Martin.  “When can we start making feeder balls and popcorn chains for our own Solstice celebration?” 

“Finish your breakfast, then we’ll clean up this kitchen.  Once we’re all dressed for the day, we’ll get started.  I can pop some popcorn while we start on the feeder balls.”, suggested Mom.

“Maybe we can do the new year resolutions after dinner.”, added Martin.  “Then we have all day to think about what we want to do better next year.”

“Great idea.”, nodded Dad.  “I’ll get the pinecones out of my car right after we finish eating.”

Breakfast became quiet as everyone started thinking about the past “Earth Year” and what they wanted as their “Renewal Resolutions”.