Winter Solstice Stories: Remembering Our Connection to Earth

Winter Solstice Stories: Remembering Our Connection to Planet Earth

It’s that time of year again here at Living on Earth.

As the winter solstice approaches, we take a pause from our usual news gathering and turn instead to ancient stories of this dark season.

Maybe you feel it too. There’s something about that low hanging sun and early night that begs us to slow down, gather round, and listen.

Throughout the year, the Living on Earth team works hard to bring you accurate environmental news stories from around the world, filled with the facts and figures that we hope tell the story of climate disruption. But this week, we invite you to tune into a different kind of story — the story of Mother Nature and how she came to be, according to different cultures.

While these tales may lack statistics and research results, they offer something rare in modern life: a chance to ground ourselves in the natural rhythms we often ignore, from the setting of the sun to the patterns of the wind.

They remind us of a truth we’ve known for millennia, across cultural boundaries, but one we frequently forget: We humans are inextricably bound to the planet we live on — we do not exist without our environment.

This week, you’ll hear from Perry Ground, Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation and veteran storyteller, about how the Pleiades constellation ended up in the sky. “The Seven Brothers” is a tale told during the most spiritual time in Haudenosonee culture (also called the “Iriquois” by colonizers): the winter solstice, which marks the beginning of their new year.

Sophia Pandelidis

Associate Producer

Here are some more winter tales from the Living on Earth archives you might enjoy:

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