Winter Solstice 2023
Happy Winter Solstice! This year marks the 24th edition of artwork celebrating the spirit of the Winter Solstice (technically, the 2000 edition was a generic holiday greeting with Winter Solstice overtones, so it does not really count). 2023 has been a rough year filled with many trials and challenges. To be honest, I was not even sure I would be able to create an illustration this year. Luckily, the obstacles were surmounted so I was able to pull off an illustration with a few days to spare.
Theme wise, the Winter Solstice is always about the light returning to dispel the darkness. So, this year, I am Illustrating an Inuit folk tale which is not specifically about the Winter Solstice but, tells the story about how Crow brought light to the dark Arctic region which is inhabited by the Inuit people. I have always found the Inuit people to be interesting which is why I was looking for something in the culture related to the Winter Solstice.
The term Inuit refers broadly to the Arctic indigenous population of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Inuit means “people,” and the language they speak is called Inuktitut, though there are regional dialects that are known by slightly different names. Today, the Inuit communities of Canada live in the Inuit Nunangat, loosely defined as “Inuit homeland”, which is divided into four regions.
The Inuit have a rich tradition of storytelling. Traditional Stories are usually seen as narratives used to explain characters, experiences, or phenomena of religious or spiritual importance which are illustrative of a certain community’s belief system. They are also stories handed down by tradition based on history.
Birds are significant as they are a symbol of the springtime which is linked to the return of the sun, the melting ice, and the warming days. Among Inuit cosmology, birds take an active part into myths through the oral tradition and shamanism practices. The crow is one such bird who appears often in stories. It is interesting to note the common crow does not live in the northern territories so, it is most like the raven, the largest of the crow species which has been spotted as far north as Greenland, who is the main character of many stories.
The below story of Crow Brings the Daylight is adapted from An Inuit Myth retold by S. E. Schlosser. For the original story visit the website below.
This particular version of the story begins in the distant past with the Inuit people living in darkness far to the north. Crow, who traveled between the northlands and the south, told stories of daylight which the Inuit people had never heard of.
After a time, the Inuit people convinced Crow, who said he was too old for such a long journey, to make the long flight to the south then return with daylight.
Crow flew through the endless dark of the north for a great distance, even though being incredibly weary, until he saw daylight on the horizon. With great effort, Crow made it to the daylight world where he finally perched in a tree to rest.
Crow saw a village by a river then spied a young girl collecting water from the river. Being a magical creature, Crow transformed into a speck of dust then landed on the young girl as she passed beneath the tree. Eventually, the girl made her way to the lodge of her father, who was the chief of the village.
Inside the lodge, Crow saw a box glowing with daylight around the edges. He drifted down to a young child playing on the floor then landed in the child’s ear. Crow irritated the child’s ear so that he would cry then, when the chief asked the child why he was crying, Crow whispered to the child to ask to play with the ball of daylight.
The chief’s daughter brought the box over then the chief removed the ball then tied a string to the ball of daylight. The child tugged the sting to watch the glowing orb bounce which made him laugh.
Crow scratched the child’s ear again to make him cry then whispered to the child to ask to play with the ball of daylight outside. The chief obliged then carried the child outside.
As soon as they had left the lodge, Crow left the child’s ear then, resuming his original form, swooped down, grabbing the string from the child’s hand. Crow then rose up into the sky with the glowing ball trailing behind him.
In the far north, the Inuit people saw the light in the distance which grew brighter as Crow approached. The Inuit people pointed and called to Crow while expressing their delight.
When Crow dropped the ball, it shattered on the ground, releasing the daylight which illuminated the dark world. The sky turned blue, mountains became a pallet of colors, and the snow sparkled like diamonds.
While the Inuit people were celebrating, Crow told them since he was only able to obtain one ball of daylight from the south, the light would only last for six months then the daylight would need to rest. Darkness would return during those six months.
The Inuit people thanked Crow profusely, assuring him six months of daylight would be more than enough.
To this day, the Inuit live for half a year in darkness and half a year in daylight. They are always kind to Crow, for it was he who brought them the light.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Winter Solstice and a happy holiday season. Please enjoy the artwork and, as always, I look forward to hearing everyone’s feedback.