Buried deep in the darkness of winter all around the globe, there are rituals, festivals, and holy days designed to shine a light of hope and promise as we wait for spring. Christians pegged the birthday of Jesus in the dead of winter, on a day already honoring the pagan god Saturn…on the winter solstice. And throughout time, in that season of the longest night of the year, people have turned to God (or the gods) for the promise of new life. In a joyous respite from the mid-winter blahs, they th