When I was a child I always used to wonder why people made such a fuss of December 25th when all the real work was being done on the 23rd/24th. The days are at their shortest on the 21st, but after that they are lengthening and everything on earth knows it. Apart from people, perhaps.

This morning I was up to watch the sun rise in a clear blue sky. Fingers of gold shot with pink and red stretched across the heavens, a silent symphony of colour. There was frost, yes, but there was also promise. The birds were out in force, singing.

We get a wide range of birdlife here, and although I’m no real birdwatcher, I can recognise a lot of them and put seed out for them through the year. I also learn to recognise the gist of their song. Sometimes it’s about courtship, sometimes about warning, but this morning, unmistakably, they were rejoicing.

So I wandered off into the garden, and although it was still pretty dark there it also had that quality of expectation about it.

For me as a Pagan, this time of year, Christmas, Solstice, Yule, call it what you will (and I belong to a time where Pagans didn’t draw attention to themselves if they could help it) is all about rejoicing. The year is changing gear. Even better, there is a glorious full moon shining down on us at night.

I had intended an online party for the Solstice but was too shattered after the wedding. So instead I’ve written a solstice blessing for all of you….

May the moon turn her face to you
And teach you the secrets of her night;
May the sun’s warm embrace with you
Teach you all the secrets of his light.

Starlight, moonbright, Summer’s disc and Winter’s night
Keep you fast and hold you tight.