BELFAST, Maine — In the darkness of mid-December, it can be hard to remember that brighter days are coming.
But the annual Winter Solstice Celebration of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast aims to help, by lightening moods with dancing, music, a mummers play and, of course, the steady glow of candles.
The family-friendly event will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Blue Goose Center on Route 1 in Northport.
“Solstice has been celebrated for centuries and centuries all over the world,” said organizer Liz Fitzsimmons. “The winter solstice celebration draws from a variety of traditions that mark the shortest day of the year, a time of significance to people around the world. The winter solstice on December 21 marks the sun’s return and a hopeful turn toward spring, a time of rebirth and renewal.”
Winter solstice happens when the northern hemisphere is located farthest from the sun, with short days and low-angled light as the result. Ancient cultures often reacted with superstition to the celestial movements, Fitzsimmons said.
“People were fearful that the sun would not return, unless they enacted certain ancient rituals that would ensure good feelings,” she said. “[Solstice celebrations] are also rooted in the fact that early cultures were all agricultural in nature, and people would have customs and observances to ensure the fertility of the spring.”
Solstice was celebrated in such places as Ireland, Iran and North America with special rituals to mark the sun’s journey, but the Belfast celebration will incorporate traditions mostly from the British Isles, Fitzsimmons said.
Members of Highland Mary, a Morris dancing group, will shake their bells and create their rhythmic patterns at the celebration as they have for many years, she said. The UU Church’s Sword Sisters also will dance during the event.
Another annual highlight is the mummers play, a seasonal folk play that is based in old English tradition and that features the theme of resurrection. But it’s a comic piece of theater and always hits its mark, Fitzsimmons said.
“They’re always silly,” she said. “They’re very funny.”
The mummers play that will be performed in Belfast is written by a church member and always is written to be timely and topical, Fitzsimmons said.
“We never know what will be put into it,” she said.
Something else that makes the event special is the way that light inside the venue is used to signify such momentous occurrences as the coming of the darkness and the return of the light.
“In the hall, we start the evening with quite a bit of light,” Fitzsimmons said.
Later, there is a dramatic moment the lights go down completely and the room is in darkness.
There then will be more performances by Highland Mary and then a reading by Linda Buckmaster, Belfast poet laureate.
Then, there will be the lighting of the chalice, a UU Church tradition, Fitzsimmons said. People will light candles and the audience will sing “Dona Nobis Pacem,” or “Give Us Peace.”
“People are asked to make wishes for the new year,” she said.
Lights then come up, gradually, and there is drumming, a trumpet fanfare and the singing of the folk song “Lord of the Dance.” A man dressed in green — the Green Man of tradition — will lead the room in dancing, and people will circle around the hall, Fitzsimmons said.
The event is a popular one.
“We usually have standing room only,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased only at the door, and all proceeds this year will be donated to the Belfast Soup Kitchen.
Last year, more than $1,700 was donated to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank from ticket proceeds.
Fitzsimmons asks attendees to arrive by 3:30 p.m., because there is limited seating.
In the event of a snowstorm, the celebration will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6 to 18, $25 for families and free to children younger than 6.
For more information, call Liz Fitzsimmons at 338-4245.
Northport to ring in solstice
