The Winter solstice is today in the Northern Hemisphere while the Summer solstice is celebrated in the Southern Hemisphere. While we have zero celebrations regarding the solstices where I live, the holiday traditions that many people ritually enact have their origins in Winter solstice activities. The Winter solstice 2017 is the shortest day of the year. We will have about 9 hours of daylight here. Lighting the Yule log, which people think of as an English Christmas tradition, comes from the Scandinavian Feast of the Juul. In addition to public banquets, the Juul log was lit and burned until it …