**SOLSTICE MEANS- "STANDING-STILL-SUN"
Where do we also find in scripture that the sun stood still? Joshua 10:12-14

(KJV) Then spake Joshua to The Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13. And the sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

What if the Sun stands still for the SON, whose voice is like a trumpet? Can this be a clue.(opinion mine)?

It is said that the winter solstice is the "darkest" day of the year. Winter solstice is when, because of the earth's tilt, your northern hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun, and therefore: the daylight is the shortest. The sun has it's lowest arc in the sky. When it is winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, the sun is directly ovehead at noon only along the Tropic of Capricorn.(Sao Paulo, Brazil, S Madagascar and areas north of Brisbane Australia)

The Mesopotamians were first celebrating with a 12 day festival of renewal, designed to help the god marduk TAME THE MONSTERS OF CHAOS FOR ONE MORE YEAR.

Many cultures perform solstice ceremonies. The root: an ancient fear that the failing light would never return UNLESS HUMANS INTERVENED WITH ANXIOUS VIGIL OR ANTIC CELEBRATION.

Earl W. Count writes:(4,000 years of Christmas)

Shall we liken Christmans to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the patten the experience of their lives.  When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew.

The Ancients huge efforts to observe the solstices began with an array of ancient cultures building their greatest architectures, tombs, temples, cairns and sacred observatories aligned with the solstices and equinoxes. Stonehenge is a marker of both soltices.
Newgrange, a megalithic site in Ireland was built to receive a shaft of sunlight deep into its central chamber at dawn on WINTER SOLSTICE. Maeshowe, on the Orkney Islands north of Scotland, shares a similar trait. Hundreds of other megalithic structures throughout Europe are also oriented to THE SOLSTICES AND THE EQUINOXES.

WINTER SOLSTICE IS CONSIDERED-THE REBIRTH OF THE SUN- CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF "THE SON"-THE SON OF GOD!
Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice about 1600 years ago. Christmas was overlaid with the Winter solstice, and the observance of Christmas spread throughout the globe. Along the way, some of the meaning and deep connections ot these ancient solstice celebrations got lost to a fundamental seasonal, hemespheric event. **MANY PEOPLE- OF MANY BELIEFS- ARE LOOKING TO REGAIN THAT CONNECTION.

Maybe that is another reason Christmas has been Hijacked.(my opinion)

* The Native Americans of Chumash celebrated before the Europeans arrived to America.
* Iran has the observance of Yalda, in which families keep vigil through the night and fires are burned brightly to help the sun(goodness) battle darkness(evil)
* Pakistan
* Tibet
* China celebrates Dong Zhi, The arrival of winter.

**HANUKKAH IS CELEBRATED ONLY DUE TO THE MIRACLE OF THE EIGHT DAYS OF LIGHT CREATED BY ONE DAY'S WORTH OF OIL. A DIRECT MIRACLE FROM YAHWEH. THIS JUST SO HAPPENS TO CORRELATE WITH DECEMBER BECAUSE OF WHEN THE MIRACLE HAPPENED. THE 25TH OF KISLEV.

Is it a coincidence that YAHWEH chose to show his glory in a miracle at this time? I say, no! It was planned by HIM.

Winter Solstice for 2005 occurs at 10:35 am PST on December 21st.  Will we again see a miracle from YAHWEH when HE tells HIS SON to stand still in the sky to await HIS bride....Is this our time?....We shall soon see....

Looking up and loving the learning process! Kelly in Dallas

*All information taken from www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html