Rejoice, The Sun is Born Again

Happy/Merry holiday of your choice.

Been busy working, both at my seasonal retail gig (yay book store) and getting portfolio/cards/samples/etc ready to ship out, as well as a few other projects that need to be addressed.

That being said, it's nice to get some time off to spend with family (and new kitten, will post pics when I can get her to hold still long enough to grab them).

I decided to make things for my family this year, as opposed to buying them the same things I always get them. Was fun, and I think they'll like the artwork-slash-pictures.

On another note, it dawned on me that the various holidays that take place around the Winter Solstice, when you boil away the religious flavorings, are all about the same sorts of things. Family and friends coming together to lift everyone's spirits as the shortest night of the year is past and the warmth will return with the sun.

That and you see lights pop up over and over again.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa use candles in their celebrations; Christmas has the Christmas tree lights (which used to be candles); Yule has the "Yule Log", or a big chunk of wood that would help to keep the hearth fire burning longer; the Humanists (a predominately secular philosophy) have a candle lighting ceremony for HumanLight, their winter time holiday.

It's always amazing how much is there when you look at the similarities between us instead of the differences.

How does the saying go, "it's always darkest before the dawn"?

Let's hope that holds true.
I for one would love to see what lies on the far side of the daybreak.

[P.S.-interpret the title as literally or metaphorically as you want, you're probably right]