Winter solstice celebrations in the DC area?

[Anonymous]

I could not figure out where to put this thread so I'm putting it here in the hopes people will see it in Recent Topics. But if there is somewhere else it makes more sense, please let me know!

In the last few years we've gotten into celebrating winter solstice at home and I thought it would be fun to attend some kind of community celebration this year if we can find one. Kids are elementary age. They learned about winter solstice from the children's book The Shortest Day and would love something that had that same spirit with pagan elements but linked to modern life?

Anyone know of something like that in the DC area that is kid-friendly? And preferably open to people of all faiths as opposed to limited to a specific faith community.

TIA

[Anonymous]

Did you come across anything??

[Anonymous]

The Washington Revels’ Christmas performance isn’t particularly Christian — lots of nods to the winter holidays’ pagan roots, including a spoken performance of “The Shortest Day.”

They also do lots of smaller, more participatory events throughout the year.

https://revelsdc.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Washington Revels’ Christmas performance isn’t particularly Christian — lots of nods to the winter holidays’ pagan roots, including a spoken performance of “The Shortest Day.”

They also do lots of smaller, more participatory events throughout the year.

https://revelsdc.org/

That looks great but whew the prices are a bit hard. I love supporting community theater but it would be over $200 for a family of four and that's if you do the show only -- it's $100 per person to attend the reception and celebration before the show as well. Especially hard to justify that right around the holidays when there are so many other extra expenses.

Where do people get money for events like this in DC? I would assume that would be a somewhat crunchy crowd, not a bunch of Big Law attorneys and consultants. Does it just wind up being people who bought homes 15 or more years ago so they are exempt from the biggest increase in cost of living in this area?

[Anonymous]

Ladan Spa in Falls Church sometimes has something for the Solstice. I don't see anything on their site now, but you might call them. Even if they don't have anything set, they might know of something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Washington Revels’ Christmas performance isn’t particularly Christian — lots of nods to the winter holidays’ pagan roots, including a spoken performance of “The Shortest Day.”

They also do lots of smaller, more participatory events throughout the year.

https://revelsdc.org/

Ok, but is there something more aligned with Winter Solstice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Washington Revels’ Christmas performance isn’t particularly Christian — lots of nods to the winter holidays’ pagan roots, including a spoken performance of “The Shortest Day.”

They also do lots of smaller, more participatory events throughout the year.

https://revelsdc.org/

That looks great but whew the prices are a bit hard. I love supporting community theater but it would be over $200 for a family of four and that's if you do the show only -- it's $100 per person to attend the reception and celebration before the show as well. Especially hard to justify that right around the holidays when there are so many other extra expenses.

Where do people get money for events like this in DC? I would assume that would be a somewhat crunchy crowd, not a bunch of Big Law attorneys and consultants. Does it just wind up being people who bought homes 15 or more years ago so they are exempt from the biggest increase in cost of living in this area?

plus it seems a little too christian-nationalist

[Anonymous]

Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, Sunday Dec. 22 3:30-4:30pm ($20 for one child, $30 for two).

https://alltogetheroutdoors.com/enroll/

[Anonymous]

Swedish Embassy has St Lucia Day celebration

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ladan Spa in Falls Church sometimes has something for the Solstice. I don't see anything on their site now, but you might call them. Even if they don't have anything set, they might know of something.

Oh that sounds just perfect for OP and her kids. A spa in Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Check out the free Pathways magazine OP: https://www.pathwaysmagazineonline.com/magazine/

They might list some local solstice celebrations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ladan Spa in Falls Church sometimes has something for the Solstice. I don't see anything on their site now, but you might call them. Even if they don't have anything set, they might know of something.

Oh that sounds just perfect for OP and her kids. A spa in Falls Church.

They often do events for things like the Solstice. That have nothing to do with spa treatments.

Get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, Sunday Dec. 22 3:30-4:30pm ($20 for one child, $30 for two).

https://alltogetheroutdoors.com/enroll/

We’ve done the lantern walk as part of the Chinese solstice festival called Dongzhi. It is also traditional to eat dumplings on this day — in the tradition this protects your ears from freezing during the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, Sunday Dec. 22 3:30-4:30pm ($20 for one child, $30 for two).

https://alltogetheroutdoors.com/enroll/

We’ve done the lantern walk as part of the Chinese solstice festival called Dongzhi. It is also traditional to eat dumplings on this day — in the tradition this protects your ears from freezing during the winter.

Is this event very inclusive ?

[Anonymous]

The Christmas Revels are pricey, but we consider it our annual holiday event - so we don't see the nutcracker or any other type evening event. It's a real mix, though, not just solstice but certainly Christmas and other winter rituals.