For yesterday's book group reading I found a passage in A C Grayling's The Challenge of Things under the heading Darkness which covered, briefly, the history of winter celebrations. This point was one I had not really considered before....
And paradoxical as it might seem, winter darkness was traditionally a time of plenty - the harvest had long been gathered and stored, the pigs slaughtered and their flesh salted - and the austerities of spring, when supplies were used up and the year's hard work had to begin were far off. The dark part of the year was therefore a welcome season of holiday.