The longest night
Coriander
Last night was a quiet, dark, night and after the sun went down, Coriander came with me to the beach…
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Candle
…we put sand in the bottom of a paper bag, and a lit tea light (without it’s metal cup) inside the bag…
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Beach
…this year we made rays of the sun, originating south and pointing encouragingly towards us in the north!
This is a local winter solstice tradition, for decades we have placed lanterns at low tide, so when the candles have burned out and the tide washes away the paper, nothing is left but the hope for more light! All along the beach as small groups of people arranged their candles into spirals, hearts, circles, and lines and some solitary lights, we all felt the quiet and darkness of the moment as the earth turns back towards the light.
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Quimper Hittys 
Your beautiful narrative has brought tears and hope to my being….thank you Coriander and Karing Human.
You are so welcome, josefina 1991, we love this tradition – it does seem so meaningful to us.
what a lovely tradition….I can just imagine the lights flickering out and the tide gently washing away the traces. Thank you,
You are welcome…it was a gentle night last night! Some solstice nights it has been wilder weather, but doing it over several years means that we have seen many versions!
How lovely! Happy Solstice and I hope that you are feeling better now and will continue to feel well! ❤
Thank you so much! We wish the same for you and yours!
Magical photos and looks like a wonderful Solstice!
It was wonderful – a wet west coast solstice tradition!
Beautiful! We have just had our longest day. Here in the tropics it’s usually dark at a fairly early hour, but yesterday it stayed light until 7.30, which is very late for us. Mind you, it’s also light at 4am!
And a very happy summer solstice to you!
That’s a beautiful tradition. As always, thank you for sharing
You are welcome, it is so nice to be at the beach in the dark with people doing their separate things together…a community event without speeches or smugness!
Beautiful traditional event. Thank you dear Hitty Lady, Love, nia
You are very welcome nia, I feel like you came with us!
Thank you so much, Love, nia
That sounds a lovely tradition. In the UK the relatively few people who mark the Solstice tend to have bonfires. I thought of having one but the weather was not great so I lit lots of candles indoors instead and made a nice meal. I shall keep lighting all the candles until after Christmas.
There is something so very dark about these winter nights, candles somehow seem so encouraging!
What a neat tradition. I love the first photo with Coriander.
Thank you – Coriander was enthralled!
dear Hittys – let there be Light.
Yes! These dark nights are SO dark!!