Solstice Party Ritual Planning

Solstice Toast
- Stand around punch bowl, everyone gets a full cup
- Everyone says something they would like to leave behind in the darkness of winter, and something they'd like to move toward in the new year
- Pour the punch back into the bowl
Mickki: Darkness ritual
- Turn out all the lights and give people some time to reflect on the darkness and on loss
- Bring the light back starting with a single candle
  - Or have each person light a candle and set it on the windowsill
- Shelley: I like this better than the toast
Decorating the Solstice Tree
- Cards on which people would write things they have lost or gained (or that they wish to leave behind or move toward)
  - Burn the ones for loss
  - Hang the others on the tree
  - Don't pressure everyone into doing it
- Berries and poinsettia
Ben: Participatory song, "When the Winter Comes We Gather" (?)