Instant Happiness : Spread peace and love. Be the bearer of the light of hope and love
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
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For many people - Hobbits included - Yule is a wonderful time. However 'wonderful' is far from the only word to describe Yule. If you ask people from other races to describe this time of the year in one word, adjectives like 'happy', 'cheerful', 'warm', and 'magical' are shared. Hobbits would agree with a lot of these, but they would also say : " the most important word is missing.....you forgot LOVE!"
So today, on the arrival of the Winter Solstice and on the shortest day of the year, we celebrate Yule or Jól. This is a time of great symbolism and power. It marks the return of the sun, when the days finally begin to get a little longer. It's also a time to celebrate with family and friends, and share love and the spirit of giving.
Hobbits know that the winter solstice is the longest night of the year—and that means that the Sun is beginning its long journey back towards earth. Soon the warm days of spring will return, and the dormant earth will come back to life. On this one day, the Sun stands still in the sky, and everyone on earth knows that change is coming.
No matter how dark the night is, light, and love, will find a way. A Yule celebration begins and ends with family and friends. These are the people we feel safe around, the one who made us feel comfortable and loved. They know us, and we enjoy spending time with them because we love them. Yuletide is an opportunity to gather around a table full of delicious treats in order to enjoy life and each other's company.
I know for a fact this Yule will be particularly difficult for many. The world has changed, and many will not be able to be with family and friends...and yet, I am still full of hope. I want to believe the return of the Sun and of Spring will also bring a return to the life we knew before and we all took for granted. There are still great battles ahead, the war is not won, but together, Hobbits, Men, Elves and Dwarves will free Middle-earth from this evil.
So this year, the little Hobbit house is quiet, the fire is lit, and there is some tasty food on the table. Our dog Freki is sleeping on the rug, snoring happily, dreaming of a big juicy bone. As we sit here , listening to the sound of the ice forming on the lake outside and the waterfall in the distance, the snow is falling. Just before dawn we walk out of the house and prepare to welcome the Sun.
Clad in clothing of rough wool and fur, we will stand in a clearing in the woods, the scent of pine all around us, just before dawn. It will be freezing cold, after days uncounted we’d spent huddled inside next to a fire, with the sky too dark to work or even to see outside. Yet on this morning our eyes will be fixed on a single standing stone driven into the earth, that will prove the rebirth of the Sun which gives all life.
We will watch the Sun rise, seeing it come up in the East as it always does, and a hush of wonder falls over us. It is the promise of the new year, the promise that the days will get longer, and eventually warmer, and the spring will come. It is a promise of hope, happiness and love for the future.
Hail to the sleeping Sun Maiden who awakes!
On this the shortest day of all,
She blinks her sky-bright eyes
And blesses us on the frosty Yule morning.
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To you all
God Jól and Til árs ok friðar!
