Winter Solstice Shadow Puppet Show held December 21

 

The Good Harbor Hill Players presented “Be Thankful for What you Got,” a winter Solstice puppet show at North House Folk School on the shortest day of the year, December 21.

As many as 100 hearty people attended on this cold, windy night. The puppeteers worked their magic inside, using a window to display the puppets.

A planned potluck and bonfire were canceled because of the weather. Attendants, at least some of them, recorded their “gloomies,” their fears and worries, on pieces of paper and were going to burn them in the bonfires. Instead, these were burned in other fires at home. On this night, the longest night of the year, it meant a lot that so many would brave the elements and be together. In some cultures, ancient people held ceremonies and celebrations on the winter solstice as an opportunity for renewal, to shed bad habits and release bad feelings, embracing hope on the darkest day of the year as the days once again begin to grow longer. The tradition lives on today around the world and in Cook County, as well.