Winter failed to show up to its winter solstice service yesterday at Second Congregational Church of Greenwich.
Although the arrival of winter and the advent of Christmas were the main themes for the event, the mild weather didn't conjure an image of any winter wonderland.
"We were hoping for better special effects," said the Rev. Robert Naylor, senior minister at the church on East Putnam Avenue, as he noted the lack of snow.
Winter officially arrived at 7:22 p.m. last night. To mark the longest and darkest day of the year, Second Congregational held a service of Scripture reading, carol singing and labyrinth walking on its property at the Greenwich Labyrinth for Peace and Healing.
The winding stone path was installed this year as a place to relax and reflect, Naylor said. Last night, it was lined with luminaries to guide the dozen members in attendance.
Naylor said that for Christians, the winter solstice is a sign that the days will be getting lighter and longer. The symbolism is combined with Christ's birth to "show the coming of light through Christ," he said. The event also was used as a stress reliever, he said.
"In the midst of all the chaos and noise of Christmas, we get a chance to draw back and have a reflective time," Naylor said.
Church member Ruth Davidson said she decided to attend the church's first winter solstice service to be a part of something new and to focus on the meaning of Christmas.
"It adds to the spirituality of Christmas," she said.
When the holiday's usual ice-cold temperatures and snowfall will arrive is yet to be seen, according to National Weather Service meteorologist John Cristantello.
He said that as of Wednesday, this has been the third warmest December on record. Yesterday's high was 54 degrees, or 14 degrees higher than normal, Cristantello said. Today and tomorrow will have similar temperatures, with rain replacing the snow some might expect a few days before Christmas.
For those hoping that Bing Crosby's holiday tune might come true, "it's not looking very good right now" for a white Christmas, Cristantello said.
The celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 -- there is no mention of a specific birth date in the Gospels -- has direct ties to the celebration of the winter solstice, which has pagan roots as the high holiday Yule.
Witches praise the rebirth of their sun god and burn a Yule log to honor Thor, their god of thunder. The early Christian church chose Dec. 25 to celebrate the birth of Christ to deflect attention from the pagan holiday, according to religious scholars.
For Wiccans, the winter solstice provides a great source of energy as they worship the power of darkness, according to Greenwich Psychic owner Janet Lee, who practices white magic witchcraft. Lee says she does not personally use the negative energy associated with Wiccan black magic but she often interacts with the witches.
"People who usually work with dark magic work then," she said, adding that the day may be used by black witches to make love and healing spells.
Lee said those witches who use positive energy avoid working on the day of the winter solstice to avoid crossing paths with the work of those using negative energy.
