Winter Solstice Gifts + Practices

I have 2 gifts for you. While both gifts are aimed at families with children, they teach perennial lessons that awaken our connectivity and elevate our morality.

The first Solstice gift:

How to Teach Children (age 4-400) about Giving + Receiving

Solstice Gifts

This is a 28-minute podcast with Susan Kaiser Greenland, author of The Mindful Child, and one of my beloved teachers. I’ve released it to help families connect with depth this holiday season.


The second Solstice Gift

A story by Starhawk: A Visit to Mother Winter
She generously let me publish online her story in a printer-friendly format. If your family doesn’t have a Winter Solstice Ritual, this is a perfect one to begin with.

Here is how the story begins…

“Once there were two sisters – we’ll call them Johanna and Zelda, although they lived so long ago that no one remembers their true names. Zelda, the elder sister, was very beautiful to look at, but she wasn’t kind. In fact, because she was so beautiful, she went through life expecting everyone to do favors for her and let her have her own way, and often enough they did.

Johanna, the younger sister, was different. She was kind to everyone she met, and helpful, especially to the older people in her village. She was always doing favors for them, and she tried to make sure they were comfortable and had enough to eat. Johanna was rather plan to look at – not ugly, but certainly no beauty. Only people who were wise enough to look beneath the surface of things would notice her beautiful spirit shining out through her eyes.

One day Johanna and Zelda were spinning beside the little well that supplied their cottage with water. Johanna was twirling her
spindle to twist the thread when she dropped it altogether. The spindle went rolling and bouncing into the well…”

... for the rest of the story, come on over here.

Enjoy.
Please share.
And if you have a moment, please comment on the blog. 

In the same vein:

• A Children’s Story for Winter Solstice
• Plan your Winter Solstice