☀️ Re-imagining December's traditions

Ideas for a more grounded festive season + a mindful and simple craft activity.

Hey fam

A very merry solstice to you. Whether you are approaching the longest or shortest day of the year, I’m here to encourage all of us to step out of the hubbub and give some of our attention to the turning of the year.

(Psst…Read on to find a video with instructions for a mindful solstice craft activity.)

A re-imagined festive season

Here is a jolly excerpt of my thoughts on re-imagining festive traditions from my December Patreon newsletter:

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought it'd be a little radical to take a quiet moment amongst the busyness to think about, and maybe question the way we celebrate, and why we celebrate at this time of the year.

I don't know about you, but for me, Christmas can feel a bit like a runaway train of endless unquestioned traditions and commitments.

If I think about it too much, it's all so strange that we celebrate a kinda weird mash-up of European wintery traditions in the middle of our summer here in Australia, for a holiday that came historically from a religion that most of us don't follow, that then morphed into a consumerism-fest that makes most of us feel ick. So weird.

Meanwhile, there's an ancient and more tangible elephant in the room, the solstice, mid-winter, mid-summer, Yule, or Litha. There are many names for this solar celebration on 21st December, depending on your hemisphere.

Doesn't it make sense to celebrate something that we actually experience in a cyclic, seasonal way?

Do you celebrate the solstices? I'd love to hear about your traditions and rituals.

In ancient times we were more connected to the seasons. Humans recognised that our food availability was linked directly to the lengthening of the days. The sun's generosity was truly something to raise a mead to.

Nowadays, supermarkets and long food supply chains disconnect us from that important link between the sun and our ongoing survival/thrival.

But maybe we should take a moment to hat-tip the sun on the 21st?

I have a lot of sentimental memories locked up with Christmas and we like to honour our family traditions of coming together for the day on the 25th. But this year we'll also be spending the 21st celebrating the summer solstice with a bunch of friends.

We'll make summer solstice wreaths from in-season things from our gardens, and we'll share a potluck dinner, perhaps around the firepit if the weather is mild.

Alongside decorating our real Christmas tree with kids' crafts and some locally made ornaments that we've collected over the years, we're also making space to celebrate the sun's longest arc in the sky, with things like:

• Bringing seasonal flowers into the house

• Adding sun-themed elements (see our craft activity below or you could make suncatchers, flower crowns or garlands)

• We'll be making solstice wreaths with our mates on the 21st

• Making seasonal drinks, like berry shrub rather than eggnog

• We'll eat seasonally. The first berries and cherries are ripening in the garden, and our waxy new-season potatoes will be ready to dig soon. Locally grown summer veg is just starting to come into the fruit and veg shop too - yay!

• If weather permits, we'll have a fire pit. Community bonfires are an ancient tradition symbolising the sun, which was cleansing for the upcoming season. Bonfires aren't very safe in our bushfire-prone landscape here, so the firepit will do.

Let me know below or via email if you're embracing the solstice this year. I'd love to hear from you.

A mindful solstice craft activity

If you missed out on a Radical Postcard Club’s Solstice postcard, you might still like to follow along with the instructional video (above) accompanying the postcards.

The postcard was designed to be cut into a sun shape, but you could use a cereal box to make a similar shape. Then all you need is some thread, yarn, or sting and some tape to create a delightful ornament to celebrate the solstice.

Take your time, and sink into the repetitive action of making. Enjoy.

A few final thoughts

• Here’s an amazing book that’ll help you re-imagine your traditional gatherings and inspire you to create new ways to get together.

• January’s radical postcard will also be interactive and will give you something you might need to take into 2025. There’ll be a sneak peek of it on Instagram later today. If you’ve been thinking about signing up to the club, it’d be wonderful to see you there. Find the membership options here. (Be sure to sign up on a browser, not the app, if you're an Apple person. Or they’ll sting you for extra fees.)

• Need an easy last-minute gift idea for a radical friend? You can gift a club sub to a friend for as many months as you like, here.

As 2024 screeches to a halt, I’m full of gratitude for all the epic year it has been (I thought 2023 was wild!)

Here’s the short-list of things I’m super-duper thankful for:

• In November I clocked up 10 years in commercial and editorial photography - wowsers.

• We sold our farm business to a young local family - so awesome to see it in safe hands.

• We became a one-car (and 7-bike… ahem…) family. It’s way easier than I thought.

• I ran a series of very fun visible mending workshops.

• The rather radical Patreon club I started in August is going so well. There are already many physical radical postcards out in the world, creating ripples and hopefully some good conversations.

• And my family is safe and healthy and looking forward to hanging together for a few weeks’ break.

I hope your 2024 is coming to a calm and happy close for you.

Happy Solstice to you,