On the Winter Solstice 2025
The rising Sun over Stonehenge during the Winter Solstice is a timeless symbol of light
returning after the year’s longest night.
On Sunday, December 21, 2025, the annual Winter Solstice will occur, denoting the shortest day and longest night of the year on Earth. During this time, the North Pole is tilted as far away from the sun as it can get. This has been a sign of rebirth, restoration and endurance for many cultures. It is the turning point when light begins to overcome the darkness showing why people have, throughout the ages, held this event close. It will always stand as a spiritual reminder signaling that even during the darkest hours, light returns.
The holiday season carries a particular ache for those experiencing loss, illness, or emotional exhaustion. While the world sparkles with celebration, many among us are grieving quietly—bearing the weight of an empty chair, a diagnosis, an unraveling relationship, or an uncertain future. The holidays have a way of pressing on our tender places. When the world sparkles with twinkle lights and fa-la-la energy, some of us are just trying to make it through the day without breaking down in the grocery store. There’s the empty chair. The diagnosis. The relationship that is fraying at the edges. The future that feels suddenly very fragile.
And so, churches and communities have created something gentler—a soft place to land when the season feels too heavy to carry alone. These gatherings are often called Blue Christmas or Longest Night Service, and they tend to fall around the winter solstice. It’s the perfect metaphor: the longest night. A name for that spiritual season when the lights go out and we’re left fumbling in the dark, wondering if anyone else feels this way. These gatherings remind us that we’re not the only ones.
Most of these services are simple and tender. The lights are low. There’s room for silence. A few readings, a piece of music that feels like a deep breath. You can stay seated the whole time or take part in a small ritual that gives shape to your grief. Our observance of The Longest Night this year will take place in the later afternoon rather than evening to better accommodate those attending. Please join us and invite someone:
Sunday, December 21, 2025, 3:00 P.M.
The 4th Sunday of Advent
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Louisville