Light a candle for #Antinous on February 2nd: Halfway #Solstice-to-#Equinox! #Imbolc #Candlemas #GroundhogDay #diadelacandelaria, all of them are Festivals of Newborn Light. On 2 Feb #Antinoos says wake up & open your eyes to your own divine light: https://antinousstars.blogspot.com/2024/02/antinous-and-zoroastrian-origins-of.html
#Snowdrops in the grass #meadow. A photograph to acknowledge #Candlemas, or #Imbolc, tomorrow, 2 February.
The #Christmas period is truly over now as we head into late winter.
Imbolc falls halfway between the winter #solstice and the spring #equinox. It is a #Gaelic traditional festival celebrating light and the first signs of #spring.
Every year I hope for the snowdrops to rise up through the snow - in vain.
‣ Upright. Click to see all.
For those who celebrate, Habari gani? Ujima (collective work & responsibility).
Happy #Kwanzaa!
Running from Dec. 26-Jan. 1, festival draws on African 1st fruits celebrations.
#Seasons are reversed in northern/southern hemispheres, so #wintersolstice (north) is #summersolstice (south).
#seasonoflight #solstice #timekeeping #calendar
US postage stamp
This Roman Temple of #Mithras #SolInvictus is aligned to sunrise at the #Solstice and the 25 Dec birthday of the unconquerable Sun God. Archaeologists used satellite imagery to study the temple at Carrawburgh in northern England. Full story: https://antinousstars.blogspot.com/2024/12/mithras-temple-in-northern-england-was.html
WPAFW @YsengrinWolf@meow.socialWe sent these out as Solstice cards back in 2005; figured a touch of Happy Holidays today would be appreciated.
#Solstice #Brumalia #Saturnalia: December 24th is the end of the four-week Ancient Roman #Brumalia winter solstice festival honouring #Saturn/#Cronus and #Ceres/#Demeter. The Brumalia festival included night-time feasting and merriment. During this time, oracles were taken. Brumalia festivities ended on 24 Dec, ushering in the Saturnalia and the "Waxing of the Light". (Our photo shows a festively decorated Antinous bust by #SandraGore which she calls the "Ghost of Christmas Present.")
@madargon@is-a.cat#ChristmasTree - or rather branches hanging from ceiling. I was celebrating #Slavic Koliada #holiday with one of groups in Warsaw, in atmospheric wooden house.
Poor quality is caused by weak light there. It was completely dark, only fireplace light during ceremonial part, turned on light later during feast.
So this is #Solstice/#Xmas, and what have we done? The #Hoodening's over, we all had great fun… hopefully our audiences too, 13 performances around #Thanet in #EastKent, raising around £2000 for #SERVkent (Blood Runners). A new script as always, in rhyming couplets, but no new song this year. Topical references to NHS dentists, freebie clothing, Oasis, cost of living, explosive ships & rockets, Rwandagate, Wonkagate, Aurora Borealis, rural housing, dogging, army horses, and more… #HoodenHorse
#Solstice/#Yule/#Saturnalia: #Antinous embodies #Phanes, #Mithras, #SolInvictus hatching from the #Orphic Egg encircled by #Ouroboros on 25 December, the pagan origin of #Christmas. This head is possibly of #Antinoos as #Ganymede wearing a #Mithraic #Phrygian cap in the Louvre.
#Krampus, #rudolphtherednosedreindeer, #Thoth, #Santa and Jesus give #Mithras the cold shoulder at the #Solstice/#Yule/#Saturnalia/#Christmas Party. Toon art by modern #Priest of #Antinous #JulienQuinn.
The light is now returning!
Sunflowers in snow on the winter solstice
Yay! Today we had 4 more seconds of daylight than yesterday and tomorrow we'll get 8 more seconds of daylight than today!
And I want you all to know that I appreciate every one of those seconds!
Whoops, I meant to grab this slightly wider view of the sunset above, since it includes more of that glorious tree. Either way, though, it was a fabulous surprise, and doubly a delight for popping up at the end of the day of the winter solstice.
December 21, 2024. Walled Lake, #michigan
@AimeeMaroux@mastodon.socialIt's the #DayOfHelios / Sol's Day / #Sunday! 
Last night was the longest night of the year in Greece, so #Helios had his shortest work day.
"At the winter solstice, the sun would seem to be a little child like that which the Egyptians bring forth from a shrine on the appointed day, since the day is then at its shortest and the god is accordingly shown as a tiny infant."
Macrobius, #Saturnalia
Helios, Antalya Museum
@antiquidons
#DayOfHelios #GreekRomanArt #mythology #solstice
@Enalys@mastodon.zergy.netWinter is here. 
(Art by Raxrie)
A Remarkable Astronomical Phenomenon at #Karnak Temples celebrates Ancient Egyptian Ingenuity
#Egypt #solstice
https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/537338/Antiquities/Ancient-Egypt/A-Remarkable-Astronomical-Phenomenon-at-Karnak-Tem.aspx
The #Frostpendeln2024 stickers arrive just in time for a #solstice ride to the neighborhood Christmas party.
#BikeTooter #cycling #gravel #gravelbike #bike2work #biketowork #cyclinglife #montana #RedLodge #velotaf #fahrrad #Frostpendeln #winterbiking #wintercycling #fatbike
