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At the Center of Santa Barbara’s Cultural Conversation | www.VoiceSB.com
The Season of Lights
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Review by Sigrid Toye, Special to VOICE
December 20, 2019
Harbor VOICE Courtesy Photo
T SEEMS THAT THE HOLIDAYS have definitely landed here in Santa Barbara! Lights sparkle on streets and houses with Holiday wreaths everywhere and symbols of Hanukkah can be seen along with Christmas trees on almost every street corner. Whether on State Street, Coast Village Road, or any other main thoroughfare, there is no doubt that Winter and the season of lights has arrived … a very special time is to be celebrated. Santa Barbara’s enthusiasm is infectious, so I headed down to the waterfront to breathe in some of the holiday spirit and take a few pictures. Although Santa’s Village of last Sunday and the Parade of Lights is a thing of the past, Christmas trees everywhere are reminders of the festivities to come. After a trip to the harbor walkway, my next stop was a visit to Stearns Wharf, just as the sun was on its way toward the horizon leaving behind a blazing orange afterglow. Wow! It got me to thinking. Remembering that the time of the winter solstice – and our own holiday season - has been a time of mystery and celebration throughout the ages, I wondered how this tradition handed down through human history found its way to us in Western culture. Might there be Stonehenge sunset a more complicated answer than just the fact that winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night of the year? For centuries, cultures world wide have long held feasts and celebrations around the coming of the solstice. Fire and light are traditional symbols of festivities held on the darkest day of the year. The next day the sun begins its journey, days slowly become longer and nights shorter as the spring approaches. Humans may have observed this phenomenon as early At Harbor Restaurant as Neolithic period, the last part of the Stone Age, beginning about 10,200 BCE. An ancient structure that comes to mind is the mysterious monolith at Stonehenge. This revered location is oriented toward the winter solstice sunset (the same winter sunset that I saw on our own Stearns Wharf) and is believed to have been a place of December rituals for the Stone Age people. Now how’s that for a historical celebratory tradition? Ancient Romans also held celebrations around the time of the winter solstice. Saturnalia, a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture, was a weeklong event in the days At Moby Dick Restaurant At Stearns Wharf Candy leading up to the solstice during Store which homes were decorated with tree branches. For the Romans, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down (maybe like the office party?). Businesses and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun and revelry abounded. Also around that time, Romans observed Juvenalia, a special feast honoring children. Theories abound that the early Roman Catholic Church may have chosen this traditional Roman celebratory time for Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ. The Scandinavian tradition of the Yule log and the ancient tradition of greenery begin to merge in pre-historic Europe. The early Norsemen of Scandinavia celebrated Yule from the winter solstice through January with large logs in recognition of the return of the sun. They would set one end of these logs on fire and would feast until the log aaatravelsantabarbara@aaa-calif.com burned out, which could take as many as twelve days. Remember The Twelve Days At the Yatch Club of Christmas? The tradition spread to Central Europe where greenery and whole trees would be brought into homes and lighted to celebrate the Advent and The Scandinavian tradition of the Yule Log Christmas season during the 16th Century. The tradition of the lighted tree traveled across the ocean to our Sunset at Stearns Wharf shores with the coming of the Europeans and has become our symbol of the celebration of Christmas, as well as the changing of the season, in keeping with our ancient ancestors. It seems that the Christmas trees that adorn the fair City of Santa Barbara have a long and honored tradition dating back to the Stone Age. The same beautiful winter sunset I viewed from Stearns Wharf was seen so very long ago by the Ancients and celebrated. In this spirit, I wish you Happy Holidays in the light and warmth of family and friends. And please don’t forget to leave a few goodies for Santa... Harbor lighting...
AAA Travel Expo! Sun. Jan. 5th, 2020
Photos by Sigrid Toye
11 am - 1:30 pm
Come Let The AAA Travel Professionals Assist You!
Free Vendor Presentations: Member Choice Vacations, Oceania Cruises, Club Adventures, Viking Cruises, Alexander+Roberts & Brendan Vacations.
Courtesy Photo
Call Us To RSVP! 805-898-2870 AAA Travel 3712 State St.
Sigrid Toye volunteers for the Breakwater Flag Project. She is on the board of directors of the Maritime Museum and participates in Yacht Club activities. An educational/behavior therapist, Sigrid holds a Ph.D in clinical psychology. She loves all things creative, including her two grown children who are working artists. Contact her at Itssigrid@gmail.com
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