Jim Taylor’s Weblog

Tonight is the longest night of the year.
        Some find these shortened days give them the blues. Certainly, the shortage of sunlight afflicts many people who live with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
        But other factors can also make this time of year less than joyful.
        It\’s supposed to be a time for togetherness, of family gatherings. But many find themselves alone.
        It\’s supposed to be a time of generosity and sharing. But many find they have little to give, and less to receive.
        It\’s supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. But many find themselves mourning losses, afflicted by pain, worn down by stress.
        To acknowledge these feelings, many churches hold a “Longest Night” service – also called a “Blue Christmas” service.

Not so blue
        I claim some borrowed glory for introducing these services to Canada. Patricia and Glen Baker, the ministers of First United Church in Kelowna, first shaped the idea into a service for Christmas in 1987. The following year, Wood Lake Books (which I partly owned at the time) included a “Blue Christmas” service in the church curriculum The Whole People of God.
        It has since spread across the country, and beyond.
        But I don\’t find myself blue on this longest night – paradoxically, for the same reason that I often find myself depressed at the longest day of the year, in June. Each June, as I come to that point, I lament how little I\’ve done with half a year\’s daylight hours. I realize that my opportunities now start shrinking….
        So when I get to the shortest day, the longest night, I\’m encouraged. From here on things must get better. The days will grow longer. I can emerge from my hibernation; I can shed protective layers; I can welcome new life with arms flung open.
        I know – I still have at least two months of winter to endure. But I can tolerate it, knowing that its frosty grip must loosen.