winter solstice

björk's vespertine is probably the ultimate winter/christmas album to me.

"in icelandic, christmas is "jól", which has nothing of christianity in it but is believed to be from way before that and i have heard some theories that is related to the word "hjól" or "wheel". it is about winter solstice and reminds us of how the seasons roll wheel like forwards: it is a celebration of the days getting a little longer and the light returning. i have always absolutely adored christmas, for me it is the time when i sense harmony best.

ever since i saw my friend sjón's poem "solstice" i got excited about writing a song to it. i felt it poetically pointed out that the tilt of the earth gives us the seasons and reminds us of our place in the universe. we are a part of a gigantic gorgeous mobile run by physics, solar systems and as the poem points out in the end: love. in the poem, earth's position in our solar system is compared to a christmas ornament hanging on a christmas tree, 3rd from the star.(...)"

(björk)