IDEAS FOR A SOLSTICE EVE RITUAL

Honor the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you
meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting
candles (as many as you have around the house).

Make sure to put the candles out of harm¼s way if you have children.

As you light each candle, say something like: "In the greatest
darkness...the light is reborn" or "Out of winter¼s cold...the light is
reborn." Make up a new short phrase for each candle.

When all the candles are lit, meditate for a moment on what it means for the
light to be reborn. Then everybody should get up and RUN to turn on the
other lights: lights in other rooms, flashlights, the oven light, the lights
on your house or tree, etc. (Children are especially good at finding ALL the
lights.) Running is to help encourage the festivities.

Then gather again together and sing Pagan chants and carols. If you have a
indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log
(see below) and save a bit to start next year's fire. Or make or buy an
edible Yule log (which can be used in much the same way as a traditional
one, with candles, though you eat--not burn it).

Decorate the inside and/or outside of your home with electric colored
lights. Because of the popularity of five pointed stars as holiday symbols,
this is a good time to display a pentagram of blue or white lights.