The Gypsy Scholar will be presenting his annual Winter Solstice Orphic Essay-with-Soundtrack. Tune in and find out that (1) Winter Solstice rituals date from the dawn of civilization to around 25,000 years in the human past, celebrating the “rebirth of the Sun;” that (2) the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice is the origin of Christmas (welcomed with a joyous and unruly feast in Rome known as the Saturnalia); that (3) it is still the “rebirth of the Light” in many cultures or celebrated with a holiday near the Winter Solstice (e.g., Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, Yalda, Kwanzaa; that (4) the Winter Solstice was celebrated as the gateway to the New Year. This presentation will be Monday at 12 am.
Update: This program has been uploaded to the Tower of Song website. This version is not the same that was originally broadcast (edited to remove the several minutes of dead air due to a CD player malfunction) and is an extended version that includes more musical essay than time allowed. Thus, it’s not the version that is on the KSQD “Two-Week Archive.” This edited, extended version can be listened to at revradiotowerofsong.com on the “Archived Musical Essays” webpage, with the corresponding playlist on the “Programs & Playlist” webpage. Please don’t forget to check out the special “Winter Solstice” webpage so you can literally “see what I mean”–an imagistic feast for the eyes (with supplemental information).
