this new year

Surrendering to spirit revelation
I gain the light of cosmic being;
The power of thinking, growing clearer,
Gains strength to give myself to me,
And quickening there frees itself
From thinker’s energy my sense of self.

(Rudolf Steiner, Verse 39 - translated from German by Ruth and Hans Pusch)

Originally published by East of the Sun | West of the Moon. 

The longer we spend apart, the harder it is to return. The harsher the rub on tender and exposed parts. The bigger the resistance to input. The sorer the spots of vulnerability. The thicker the amor required. The heavier its burden to bear. 

winter solstice 2021

The date of the winter solstice varies from year to year and can fall anywhere from December 20 to 23, but the 21st and 22nd are the most common dates. For 2021 here in the East Coast, it falls on Tuesday, December 21, at 10:59 am EST.

Getty Images

Today Yule also marks the winter solstice although this is far from how it originated. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year - as the Sun gets its lowest elevation in the sky. Apart from the marking of a new season, the winter solstice also holds a significant symbol for the Sun. 

Saint Nick & Santa

“The modern American Santa was born in the Mediterranean, evolved across northern Europe, and finally assumed his now-familiar form on the shores of the New World.” ~ National Geographic, 2013

This reference to Saint Nicholas of Myra (more popularly known as Santa Claus), other characters such as the Dutch SinterKlass (directly inspired by Nicholas), and the English Father Christmas as well as some Germanic and Scandinavian folklore. 

the many renditions of a holiday icon

conserve life in death

According to a study published in the Berkeley Planning Journal, funerals use enough wood to build 4.5 million houses each year. Two thousand seven hundred tons of copper and bronze are buried annually, along with 104,272 tons of steel and 1.6 million hectares of forest. Maintaining the manicured appearances of traditional cemeteries, with their perfectly tended lawns, requires gallons of fertilizer and hours of lawn mower use. ~ Garielle Anctil, A Death Full of Life

For as long as humans have lived, we have also died. As populations increase and cemeteries multiply - risks of death and disease spread quickly.

The world soon became overpopulated and polluted and causes of death have multiplied along with growing numbers. Famine, wars, disease, pandemics, genocide - countless natural and manmade causes for humanity's demise and disposal became a growing concern.

image by Ashim D. Silva in Unsplash

One thing is certain - cemeteries can play an essential role in hosting ecosystems. Although with good reason they also have a bad environmental rap.

City planners, in particular, can play a key role in promoting conservation burials by incorporating burial practice into the larger context of public infrastructure planning. Taking a role in the development of the next generation of cemeteries.