Belize Celebrates Another Maya Winter Solstice
It’s hard to believe that two years have already passed since the big 2012 Winter Solstice celebrations held at Chaa Creek and around the world.
Remember? Due to some rather fast, loose and totally inaccurate readings of the Maya Long Count Calendar, the media was filled with dire predictions that the world would be coming to an end on December 21, 2012. There was even that infamous blockbuster film “2012”, that did much to further the frenzy and raise the fear level around the world.
Chaa Creek, whose owners have sponsored legitimate Maya research for decades, posted articles throughout the year debunking the doomsday theories and marked the 2012 event with an impressive, booked-out celebration that introduced guests to the significance of the real Maya Winter Solstice observations and explained why that particular date was – and is – so important to the Maya.
Briefly, the Maya Long Count did not end on 21.12 .2012, but simply, like an odometer, rolled over to complete a 5,125 year cycle marking the ending of the 13th Bak’tun and the beginning of a new cycle and era.
Hugely significant, but hardly, as we’ve seen, the end of the world.
As we predicted, here we all are, celebrating yet another Winter Solstice in the Heartland of the Maya.
There will be celebrations and observances at various ancient Maya sites such as Tikal in Guatemala, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and at Caracol and Xunantunich here in Belize. One of the many wonderful things about living in the Mundo Maya, or Maya World as the area encompassing Belize and parts of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras is called, is this feeling of continuity spanning so many thousands of years.
We have always felt that being surrounded by such a rich, fascinating culture, combined with being immersed in so much timeless, natural beauty, inspires people and gives a sense of optimism and confidence. There’s something comforting about a reconnection with nature and the past.
So in that spirit, the owners, management, and staff at Chaa Creek want to once again wish everyone, and especially our many neighbours, friends and colleagues of Maya descent, a very happy and meaningful Winter Solstice.
PS- There’s plenty of information about the Maya Long Count and Winter Solstice to be found in libraries and on the internet, and, like everything about the ancient Maya civilisation, it makes fascinating reading. Better yet, come to Belize to explore and see for yourself why the Maya are regarded as one of the most advanced civilisations of their ancient world. It’s an amazing journey.
There’s also this book called the Path of the Spiritual Sun that explains in details the celebrations of solstices and equinoxes, a time where people connect with the heavens and the earth. It mentions that the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, Glastonbury, and other sacred sites around the world aligned to the Sun. It also points out many similarities between these sacred sites, such as all worshipped the Sun(also known as the Christic force of Love). It’s a great book to learn the universal spiritual significance of these celebrations. It is also recommends how to celebrate them.