Festival of the Inner Light - December 21 through March 21

The Festival of the Inner Light starts on the first day of winter, December 21, and lasts until the first day of spring, March 21.

This festival of light will bring illumination to us during the darkest months of the year.

Give light during the Festival of the Inner Light! What could be more appropriate than to give lamps, flashlights, and candles? Any light-giving object would symbolize the celebration of light.

Charity donations are good too... it is light-giving to give to those who need relief from the pains and distresses of this world.

The path of inner light is the path to our connection with all of humanity.

My family has celebrated Christmas since before I was born. Early on I was distressed by it because of gifting habits and stressful pressures. I remember as a child, holiday shopping with my sister. We were each given twenty dollars and told to buy things for everyone on our very long lists. I found that so stressful! There was no way to buy something decent for each person with only twenty dollars to spend. Every year since then the pressure to provide holiday gifts has been a thing that stressed me and kept me from being able to enjoy the Christmas holiday.

As an adult I joined a non-Christian religion, and it made me wonder why my parents celebrated Christmas since neither of them were religious in any way. I later dropped the non-Christian religion, but still didn't feel 100% right about celebrating that day. I've never been a Christian, so why celebrate Christmas? It is a national tradition which I don't feel part of. It is also hyped by media so that people will spend more than they can afford to be part of the big celebration.

There are things I love about Christmas. Who wouldn't love the lights, the decorations, the spirit of giving, and the joy? And throughout the years I've felt pressured by my children who saw these things and wanted to take part. I felt like I had to have a tree for them, buy lots of gifts, prepare the big dinner, and make sure my kids had everything they desired on that day.

Now the children are grown and I'm about to face my first Christmas without a child living in my house. Suddenly I realize I can declare my independence from a holiday that's never felt right for me. So this year I'm designing my own winter holiday: The Festival of the Inner Light.

This holiday will last from December 21 through March 21. That's the entire winter, plus the first day of Spring. Why? Because this has meaning for me. It says that even during the dark, stormy days of winter there's light within to see us through. That shining light is the source of inner wisdom.