On the 2020 Winter Solstice, please join Through the Trees Guides and our families VIRTUALLY as we celebrate the “rebirth” of the sun in the Northern Hemisphere. This day is the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of darkness of the year, after which the period of daylight begins to grow longer. On this day, the sun is at its lowest point of elevation in the sky.

Throughout the ages around the world, the winter solstice has traditionally been celebrated through ritual. It is known as a time for reflection and renewal. This is a time that we often feel the desire to become introspective, quiet and even sleep more. Appropriately, the winter solstice is also called the hibernal solstice - a time of hibernation. In our western culture, we are often caught up in rushed holiday planning, shopping, and festivities, leading a fast-passed and even stressful existence, which can leave us feeling very depleted. This is the exact opposite of what our bodies and the earth in this hemisphere are naturally calling for us to do at this time.

We invite you to join in our own winter solstice celebration, wherever you are! Help us peacefully embrace this natural and magical time, which in turn nurtures our souls as we connect with the earth and each other. You may simply watch the live virtual event on our Facebook page, or create the same event at home and go along with us.

Event Details:

Go to the Through the Trees Facebook page at 6:00pm on Monday, December 21st and join our lantern walk ceremony from your own backyard or other outdoor space.

• We will take a quiet, short walk outdoors with lanterns to our predetermined gathering space. While this can be done with flashlights, it feels extra special and magical to take this walk with a luminary or lantern of some sort. If you would like to make your lantern, it can be as simple as a mason jar with a candle or battery-powered tealight inside. Or try these lantern ideas: Leaf Lantern, Tissue Paper Lantern, Painted Lanterns.

• Form a circle and hold a brief centering (meditation/relaxation) that we will guide you through.

• Sing This Little Light of Mine together. Click here for the lyrics on a printable document.

• We will offer some closing words and walk back to our starting point.

We are excited to announce our Jack O' Lantern Walk at Through the Trees on Halloween night! Walk our wooded trails, lined with Jack O' lanterns and some trick-or-treating along the way. Continue along the Jack O' lantern trail or choose our spooky path (if you dare!). 

Walk start times are in 45-minute increments, beginning at 5:00pm. Each time slot is limited to nine families. Similar to drop off and pick up for our homeschool nature immersion program, we will ask families to wait by their vehicles until a TTT staff member invites your group to begin the walk. This will allow spacing between each family/group on the trail. The cost for this walk is $25 per vehicle.

Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot today!