Shared by my friend Piaf. It's a story from her childhood.
The First Winter Solstice
Long, long ago, when the sun and the moon were children, they had only one toy to play with. It was the earth. Because they both wanted it, they decided to take turns.
When it was the sun’s turn, the people and creatures on earth felt warm, the crops grew tall and it was day.
When it was the moon’s turn, it grew quiet and dark on earth and the people and creatures rested.
One day, the moon decided she didn’t want to give the earth back to the sun because she was having so much fun, so she kept it for a few minutes longer before giving it back to the sun. The next night, she kept it for a few minutes longer than the last time.
This continued until the nights were much longer than the days. The sun wanted his whole turn back, but he was very shy and not sure what he should do.
On earth, the people began to grow worried. It was getting colder and there wasn’t enough sun for the crops to grow. Looking up at the cold night sky, they were scared, afraid that the night might just keep getting longer and longer until there was no day left at all.
The people decided to make a giant bonfire to call the sun back to the earth. The youngest children gathered twigs and leaves, the older kids carried large branches, and the strongest men and women hoisted giant logs onto their shoulders.
They piled all these things into a big pile and began the blaze. It burned bright and hot, just like the sun.
Looking down on earth, the sun saw the fire and knew immediately that the people and creatures were missing him. The next morning, he took his turn back a few minutes earlier.
On earth, the people rejoiced, for they knew that the warmth and the light were returning.
