The winter solstice is coming on Sunday, December 21, and there are lots of great opportunities for reflection. So many that we haven’t even had a chance to put them all in our calendar yet!
So here’s a quick compilation of solstice and winter events. Be sure to follow the links for information on prices and registration. Most of these events are not free.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Yoga Nidra: Relax and Renew at lil omm yoga in NW DC, 6:15-7:45 p.m.
Winter Solstice Hike at Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington, VA, 3:00-4:15 p.m.
Winter Solstice Shakti Flow with Jeneen Piccuro at Local Motion Studio in Alexandria, VA, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Note – this class has been canceled. Look for it to run in January!
Winter Solstice Celebration (ages 3 and up) at Locust Grove Nature Center, Bethesda, MD, 4-6 p.m.
Winter Solstice Celebration at Brookside Nature Center in Silver Spring, MD, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Winter Solstice Yoga class for donations to ASPAN, Sun & Moon Yoga, Arlington, VA, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Note that the Fairfax County Solstice Event for Sunday was canceled due to low numbers, but there will be some discussion of the solstice at the Friday, December 19 Wintertime Warmth Campfire at 7:00 p.m.
Other ways to welcome winter:
Lay out greens for an Advent Garden, a magical spiral that children at Waldorf schools annually walk in silence toward a candle.
Host a Solstice Party of your own. You could do crafts related to dark and light, make special snacks, sing songs about cold or about sun, do things by candlelight.
Read books like Winter, Awake!, The Winter Solstice, and Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice, or make up stories in the wordless Gerda Muller Winter board book.
December 28: Warm Up to Winter Dance Party, lil omm yoga, 6:30-7:45 p.m.
December 31: Family New Years Eve party at lil omm yoga, 4:00-5:00 p.m. for ages 0-3, 5:30-7:00 p.m. for ages 3 and up.
And of course, for more winter fun beyond the solstice, consult all the other great websites that feature lists of children’s activities around the DC area. Scroll to the bottom of our Around DC page for all the ones we know about.
Be sure to tell us anything we’ve missed! Add an item to the calendar, email us at jessica (at) mindfulhealthylife (dot) com, Tweet to us @MindfulHealthy or comment on our Facebook page.
