The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice

by Carolyn McVickar Edwards

Overview

A collection of twelve traditional tales from around the world that honor the "return of the light" that takes place on the winter solstice



The winter solstice, the day the "sun stands still," marks the longest night and the shortest day of the year, and it comes either on December 20th or 21st. Celebrations honoring the winter solstice as a moment of transition and renewal date back thousands of years and occur among many peoples on every continent. The Return of the Light makes an ideal companion for everyone who carries on this tradition, no matter what their faith. Storyteller Carolyn McVickar Edwards retells twelve traditional tales-from North America, China, Scandinavia, India, Africa, South America, Europe, and Polynesia-that honor this magical moment. These are stories that will renew our wonder of the miracle of rebirth and the power of transition from darkness into light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781569243602
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	11/14/2005
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.88(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Carolyn McVickar Edwards, a teacher and storyteller in Oakland, California, is the author of The Storyteller's Goddess and In the Light of the Moon. She is interested in the literacies and languages of earth, myths, books, folk songs and stories, and conversation. More information about her and her work is available at www.carolynmcvickaredwards.com.

What People are Saying About This

Ellie Fidler

Each story is a glimpse into the imagery and mysteries of another culture from a female Santa Claus in Italy to a girl marrying the sun in Africa, to the North American Raven creating light. Read the stories one day as a meditative journey or read them to your kids, or read one after another. They tell of an inner journey too, the universal journey from light to dark and back to light again.

As Carolyn says, myths are the soul stories of a particular culture. Each of her commentaries creates a tone, paints the landscape, and deepens our journey through these other worlds. Wonderful stories for the holidays or for any day of the year.
—(Ellie Fidler M.F.A., artist, lecturer and teacher of art and mythology, and the Solstice and Seasonal Myths and Mysteries series at the University of California extension, Santa Cruz, and in Berkeley, California)

Paul Winter

This delightful collection of stories is a literary analogue to the Winter Solstice Celebrations my colleagues and I have presented at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City these past 20 years. These fascinating tales, from many traditions, reflect the ancient and universal allurement to Winter Solstice among peoples around the world

Pamela Jaye Smith

Intelligent and charming, The Return of the Light draws you into an ancient, still thriving world of mystery and magic, where humans strive to make sense of nature and come up with ingenious and often fun tales to explain the winter solstice.

Angeles Arrien

The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice honors the power of storytelling and will enhance the experience of the Winter Solstice through its stories and fables, ritual and ceremony. It gives us ways to look at this time of year with renewed meaning.
— (Angeles Arrien, Ph.D., Cultural Anthropologist, author of The Four-Fold Way and Signs of Life)

Editorial Reviews

Each of these tales celebrates the return of the sun, and the book's pleasing size and format increases its appeal. In Part 1, stories of the theft of light, from Raven to the Indian continent's golden earring to the Miwok's why the hummingbird has a red throat are told. In Part 2, The Surrender, the story of Loki and the death of light is linked with the Chinese tale of how the cock got his red crown. In Part 3, The Grace, the African tale of the girl who married the sun illuminates the Italian tale of La Befana, the old woman who carries sweets to each child as she searches for the infant savior. The introductions are respectful and strive mightily to see the overarching and very human unities to these tales. Rituals and games for solstice time and a rewriting of familiar carols to be less Christmas-centered and more New Age do not always ring true, but the bibliography includes Web sites as well as numerous old and new sources. Useful in particular for tracing how ancient the celebration of the year's turning is, and how deep in the human soul. (bibliography) (Folktales. 12+)

Kirkus Reviews