According to Bede, the year pre-Christian 'English' (Anglo-Saxon) year began on Modranecht or 'Mother's Night' which coincided with the Roman, Christian, date of 25th December.  I don't think think there's anything mysterious about that, it's well known that the Christian calendar merrily adopted any pre-existing festivals that seemed to fit and then 'baptised' them.

However, the writer of the reflections uses this as a way in to reminding ourselves that God is  beyond gender, either binary or as a continuum, and too mysterious for our comprehension.  After millennia of male dominated god-language, maybe it's good to remind ourselves of feminine words too, not to replace but to peacefully coexist...

The prayer for today

Loving God, who is beyond gender, and so can be my heavenly Mother as well as my heavenly Father, may I know your mother's love this day, may I know that wonderful connection that is only possible between a mother and her child between you and me.  Be with me this day, O wonderful Mother God. Amen.

Today's choice is an old photo. Which I am setting alongside this one which is just a few days old...

The hat is the same in each photo, but they are separated by almost eight years.

It is a 'thing' that I now see every new Christmas as a very precious gift, something I would not have dared dream of eight years ago.  In those eight years I have made so many friends that otherwise I'd never have met - together we have laughed and loved and lost.

Each year, at some point I take a moment to reflect, just before the full-on festive fun begins. To remember how terrified I once was.  To recall the names of (far too many) absent friends. To realise how fortunate I am.

Advent/Christmas as a gift of remembrance... seems somehow right to me.

Today, let's start with some music!

Gud Jul! Solstice Blessings!

Today's reflection centres on the concept of the solstice, which I had ever realised literally means "sun stands still" 

Of course the sun doesn't stand still, and it's the earth's movement that creates this effect but...

That moment, however fleeting, when movement pauses or stops before it (effectively) reverses... that infinitessismal change that changes everything.

BC - AD... before-after... paradigm shift or a continuum...

Tis mystery all, but it happens, twice yearly, that the movements of earth and sun combine to change the seasons.

Tis mystery all, God enters creation in the form of a child...

The book offers this prayer for today:

Warmth of all warmth, comfort of all comfort, be with me this day.  I would share your warmth with others, and be to the other that which the great other is to me.

Let not the darkbness overcome us, but let the light shine from within to illuminate that which is darkness.

As the darkness stretches its long hand over this land, let your Light shne forth from within your people, that none would be left in darkness, but that isntead we will liove in the hope of the coming Light.

Great Light, be my guide.  Hold me fast in this present darkness that I may be the fire on a hilltop in this dark time. Burn within me now and ever more.

I'm not sure if I am technically permitted to share this, as it's only just beginning to be sent out to contributors (mine seems to have got stuck at the border, this is a photo of someone else's), but I am excited by this...

A century ago the first women were ordained and accredited by BUGB, and a whole edition of the 'Together' magazine is being given over to celebrate that.  Hopefully it will land on my doormat in the next day or two, and hopefully it will be widely read (online or in paper form) byu lots of people.

If Advent is about waiting, about saying 'yes' to God even when the world says 'no to you, about hopeful imagination, then this is surely an Advent image worth sharing.

(And yes, as hinted above, I am one of the privileged contributors to this beautiful violet-covered volume)

EDIT: Now available online here

When we were teenagers, I recall my sister saying one year, 'if Christmas didn't exist we'd have to invent it.'  This astute observation arose when were discussing winter festivals that predated Christmas and/or came from other faiths and cultures.  In the cold and dark of a British winter, we need something to cheer us up.

Today's reflection follows a similar path, beginning with Samhain and moving on Geola, Jul and Yule.  The writer notes that some suggest that 'jolly' derives from these words; neither I nor the online etymology dictionaries are convinced!  Whatever the etymology, the idea of jolly, happy celebrations in the midst of winter cold and dark is good - and given the nature of the ancient Jewish festivals, something God would probably give a stamp of approval!

The prayer:

God of joy and celebration, thank you that, even in the midst of drarkness, we can celebrate light. We know that you brought festivals into the lives of your peopel, and you still want us to enjoy ourselves.  May I know a sense of divine joy as I celebrate this season. Amen.