THURSDAY DEC 21, 2017 VOL. 43, NO. 47
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Ferry news
A new year will bring an old boat
Bowen Moments
Islanders look back on community connections in 2017 Children participating in Monika Senn’s Kindergarten program decorated a tree deep in the forest of Crippen Park this week. Each decoration was made as a special treat for the local birds, including apples and nuts. Afterwards, the children held candles and sang song. On the right, Tovin holds a candle while Madison looks on.
Meribeth Deen, photo
Brave Hearts to gather for 2018 Bowen Polar Bear Swim MARCUS HONDRO CONTRIBUTOR
If you’re looking to symbolically wash “away your sins of 2017” (that’s a direct quote from Bowen’s tourism website!) or you simply wanna get cold and wet with fellow islanders, then the Polar Bear Swim might be just the thing. The 2018 Bowen Island Polar Bear swim is of course, on January 1, a Monday this year. Islanders will run down Bowen Bay Beach and into the freezing winter water at 2 p.m, sharp. Kelly Miller will be on the bullhorn counting down the event and exhorting swimmers on to get bravely plunge into the ocean, and start their new year with a benumbing bang. Miller says they got about 100 people in for the 2017 Polar Bear swim and she is hoping for a similar number this year. “The Polar Bear swim has been going on for as long as I can remember so over 30 years,” says Miller, who operates the Bowen Island Tattoo shop. “Robby Robertson ran it before
my time, then Herald Fraser took it over... and after that my dad Ken Miller ran it. I took it over 7 years ago after my dad passed. Some years I have gone in but since I’ve been running it I stay dry and ‘man’ the megaphone.” She adds that many people gather before 2pm, and collectively steel themselves for the dunk. “Many sane people are also in attendance, there to watch the dippers and celebrate the New Year. Many islanders have never done it but there are some who do it each year. There is a sign-up at the beach and participants get a certificate saying that, well, that you’ve done the deed,” she says. “Oh, and how freezing might it be? The water temperature on New Year’s Day is usually between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius. But hey, no worries, you’ll have a warm day to greet you when you get out of the water. NOT. It’s expected to be just above freezing, and there may be snow on the beach as you sprint to the water’s edge.” Happy dipping, and don’t forget to bring a BIG towel!
Perseverance
After years of hard work, a black belt
On the year’s darkest day PAULINE LE BEL CONTRIBUTOR
November was such a dark month we put up the outdoor lights earlier than usual. The kitchen is ablaze with so many strings of colourful lights I can cook supper by them. In the living room, the large fallen tree branch that I dragged from the forest carries a burden of white lights and ornaments given to me by friends. Not to rival the display at the Little Red Church, of course, but bright and cheerful. When the editor of The Undercurrent asked if I would write something about the Winter Solstice, I couldn’t refuse. I am obsessed by this event, this particular Holy Day of the Earth. Not only is December 21st my birthday, I’ve written and recorded a song about the Winter Solstice, as well as a screenplay and a novel. And I continue to gather solstice tidings, such as this fascinating connection: bull kelp, the seaweed with a large round bulb perfect for making trumpets, starts to grow on December 21st and stops growing on September 21st, the Autumn Equinox, when the balance of hours of night and day are more or less equal. Since ancient times, humans have celebrated the return of the light. It was called Saturnalia in ancient Rome; in China, the Dongzhi Festival; Yule in Germany and Yalda in Iran. Hebrews all over the world celebrate Chanukah. Stonehenge, England’s favourite prehistoric monument, was built to align with the winter and summer solstices. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstice the Sun appears to stand still in its downward path before reversing direction. That’s for the northern hemisphere; in the southern hemisphere, they celebrate the Summer Solstice at this time. If you want the scientific explanation, the Winter Solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of 23.5 degrees. In other words, when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This year, it’s exactly 8:28 am Pacific Time on December 21st. For two million years, humans have feasted on the energy of the sun. The Winter Solstice offers us a moment to give thanks for that gift of fire, the gift of life. As we begin to leave the time of darkness and gradually return to longer, brighter days, it’s also a time to think more gratefully about darkness, the rich fecund darkness out of which all life is born. In the spring, we plant our seeds in the dark soil. In the darkness of the womb, new life is nurtured. The darkness soothes us to sleep and welcomes our dreams. Our most creative ideas come out of the dark, that not-knowing place. On the 21st the Sun pauses in this the longest night of the year. Here on Bowen, untarnished by street lamps, the darkness is conducive to deep rest. We could take inspiration from the Sun, make time to pause, to rest, to reflect, that we might wake up tomorrow and continue to work toward a brighter day. Wishing you all a restful Winter Solstice!