I really like the way the ancients celebrated this time of year. Today, marks the winter solstice which has been a celebration in the annual calendar for centuries; the moment when the sun begins to return from its shortest day and longest night to gradually longer days again. Beginning at the winter solstice, this period of time known as Yule, coming from the old Norse word for wheel, reminds us of the cyclical nature of everything on our planet and is all about the returning of light and warmth. It is also a time for reflecting on the year that has passed as well as making fresh plans for the year to come.

Yule was a 12-day period which began, I have just found out, on the eve of the winter solstice, beginning with what was called ‘mother’s night’ and continued, until what we now call the eve of January 1st. This Yuletide was a time of rest, recuperation and intention setting for the coming year. The ancient peoples saw this longest night at winter solstice as an important time for setting intentions for the year ahead. They believed that it was the most potent time because all things begin in darkness: seeds in the earth, sperm and the egg and a foetus growing, for example, all begin in darkness. So this time of the year’s greatest darkness is simply the beginning of the great things to come. I really like that. It is a much more positive focus than my usual attention given to the grey clouds, incessant rain and excessive mud!

Mother’s Night is a day to offer thanks to our female ancestors, to honour and continue traditions that have been passed down to us from them. It was our mother who, planted us as a seed within her own dark womb, then carried and brought us into the light. At this potent, winter solstice, as the light begins its journey back, it is the time to honour and give thanks for everything the female ancestors have given, shared and done for us. To mark Mother’s Night, many people bake a recipe that has been passed down through the generations. So today, my mother came and we baked ‘Melting Moments’ biscuits with my daughter, as her grandmother had done with her. We recounted stories we remembered of her mother and grandmother and we all ate and enjoyed far too many biscuits but honoured and thanked these ancestors for passing down such a delicious recipe! This was such a lovely act and I will endeavour to repeat this every year from now on as it was definitely a tradition that I feel deserves to be remembered and brought back into common use.

The winter solstice, as the festival of light celebrating rebirth and the slow return of the light, is a time for embracing the stillness of winter and honouring the cycles of nature. For me, it is a time to remember that we too are carriers of light; light shines and radiates from our hearts which we can use to nourish ourselves and share with others. We can breathe light into our hearts to find stillness and calm within the chaotic times that surround us. Then connecting our own light to the light of others can help us to find compassion, understanding and love in the world. We can use it to see the beauty in all of nature and to see the interconnectedness of all things. Let us be the light in the world; our light is there to be shared with the world, to make it a better place. Both light and dark will always exist, it is our choice which one we choose to focus upon.

My own year has seen significant progress, most notably I have written a blog once a week for almost a year now, and it has helped me to focus on what were previously, rather scattered thoughts, producing greater clarity on what I am trying to achieve in my own mind as well as with what we are doing here on the farm. There is a long way to go, but we have made a lot of progress in 2025 and there is much to be proud of. My intention for the coming year is to continue and improve my writing, to connect to more people, literally and figuratively, and to find the courage to embrace my inner strength; by standing on the shoulders of my female ancestors, knowing that through me, I can radiate the light of all of us to illuminate the way forward should we happen to find ourselves in darkness. Tomorrow, the future looks brighter – literally.

For now I shall enjoy the much needed rest while I sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and the last Melting Moment, appropriately named, thank you to all my grandmothers.