A day to celebrate: ‘Winter Star’ arrives with solstice

Some Islanders went out around dusk Monday — the shortest day, the Winter Solstice — to see the rare event of the “Christmas Star” that comes around every 20 years or so.

The “star” is actually two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, which come close together and beam brightly as one to the human eye.

This year’s Christmas Star is an even rarer event, since it will be the closest to the Earth since the early 17th century, and won’t be this close for another 60 years.

The solstice makes Dec. 21 the shortest, or darkest day in the calendar, when the North Pole is located the farthest distance from the sun for the year, so the least light of the year shines on the Northern Hemisphere.

Ancient Celtic ceremonies were instituted for the solstice. The Welsh called it Alban Arthan, or Light in Winter, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. It’s said to be one of the most ancient festivals recorded, and was a recognition of death and rebirth.

In Ireland, at Newgrange, a monument was built in the third millennium — and is visited still — to recognize the Winter Solstice and its meaning.

When the short days come in that part of the world, dominated by high rushing skies and a sharp tang of sea and bog, then what you see, hear and smell teaches you an essential lesson of what makes the Celts separate from most people.

It has to do, they will tell you, with an unembarrassed belief that there is another, richer life occurring simultaneously with all this fiddle.

Call it mysticism, call it whatever you want, but always remember, you’ll be told, to recognize what has passed, and celebrate what is present.