It’s that time again, writers. Cosy blankets, a good book, a favourite mug filled to the brim with chocolat chaud… and, depending on your background, some local traditions to honour the darkest nights of the year.

These traditions can add an incredibly powerful facet to any story. But if you’re writing speculative fiction, you may want to approach them a little bit differently in a way that honours the world you’ve created. Here are some tips on incorporating and creating winter festivities that bring your story world to life.

What is the winter solstice?

The winter solstice happens when one half of the Earth is tilted at its farthest point away from the sun. Simply speaking, this means that half is going to be darker and colder while the other half, the one angled closer, is brighter and warmer.

The winter solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of that part of the world. In the northern hemisphere, it happens somewhere around December 21st (give or take a day). In the southern hemisphere it happens around the same time in June. This means that while one hemisphere is celebrating their winter solstice, the other hemisphere is celebrating their summer solstice (and vice versa).

Because this day is characterised by cold and darkness, celebrations arose all over the world that focused on light, community, and renewal. This can be useful for deepening characterisation, worldbuilding, and even plot development in your writing.

Tips for creating solstice traditions in a secondary world

If you’re writing speculative fiction, the world of your story is probably different from the one we know – whether that’s a subtle tilt off centre, or a dramatic rewriting of the laws of nature. Here are some things to keep in mind as you develop your own solstice traditions.

Examine the turning of the seasons

First, look at the seasonal dynamics present in this world. If you’re writing a traditional Western fantasy set in Ye Olde Kingdome, it probably has a similar framework to the Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter cycle we recognise today. But if you’re writing about a fae otherworld or an alien planet, the seasonal cycle may be different.

You don’t have to be an astronomer to create a convincing fantasy world, but you may find it helpful to sketch out how your land moves and its relationship to the sun(s) or any other source of light. Spend some time brainstorming how time is measured in this place, what weather conditions are present here, and what natural phenomenon impacts the progression of the year.

Explore religious significance

Long before humanity understood the rotation of the Earth’s axis, they came up with ways to explain, honour, and celebrate the different stages of the year. If your secondary world is inspired by real-world mythology, have a look at how that culture traditionally observed the winter season. If your secondary world is an original creation, lucky you – you get to build a tradition from the ground up.

Think about what stories have been told to explain the natural phenomena of winter such as cold, dark clouds, snow, ice, new arrangements of constellations, and so forth. Are there deities or supernatural creatures that are honoured, propositioned, or placated? Is this an auspicious time for wishes, curses, blessings, or love charms? Consider how your characters might engage with the natural world around them in symbiotic ways.

Create stakes

Remember, a thrilling fantasy world is only ever as good as the story it elevates. A good way to tie the worldbuilding into the plot is to create stakes. In other words, why do these celebrations exist, and what happens if they’re disrupted?

For example, the stakes could be something like a ceremony needing to be held so that the rain-swollen river doesn’t flood the community. Or, to ensure fortune and prosperity for the coming year. The stakes could also be more emotional and interpersonal, such as two people using the holiday to repair a broken relationship. As cool as a winter celebration may be, the reader will become more invested in it if this celebration directly impacts the characters and their actions in the plot.

If your solstice celebration is conducted in secrecy, the stakes could also have to do with misconceptions, exposure, and prejudice. This is a really good way to layer real-world themes under fabulist metaphors.

Build community

The darkest days of the year have been a time of coming together in community since our first ancestors huddled up to keep warm in their caves. It didn’t take long for them to start building fires and telling stories to keep the darkness (and anything lurking within it) at bay. Over time these morphed into more and more elaborate celebrations, but the human connection at the heart of them has remained.

If your story has a sprawling cast and as many threads as a map of the London Underground, your solstice celebration could be a good place to bring these threads together. It’s a time to remind your characters of what they’re fighting for and what keeps them going with the path ahead is dark.

Don’t neglect the plot

Finally, remember that your winter celebration shouldn’t just be a showpiece; it has to move the story forward in some way. Like any other scene in the novel, it should have a beginning, middle, and end along with rising and falling tension. In other words, stuff needs to happen. Something goes wrong, or something is uncovered, or an irrevocable choice is made that shifts the protagonist’s journey in a new direction.

If you have your stakes and characters in place, this shouldn’t be too difficult. Do your characters have secrets? Now is the time to blow them open. No secrets yet? Time to start having some. Was your character well on the way to achieving their goal? Throw an obstacle in their path.

This will ensure that your beautiful winter wonderland scene (or however this period manifests in your story world) will pull its weight and keep the narrative moving forward. Your scene will become even more memorable and help take the entire book to new heights.