Celebrating the Winter Solstice – Not so Solo

Published December 21, 2009 | By solotraveler

Kensington Market Festival of Light 2009

There’s something magical about the winter solstice.

Being the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, it marks the last of the days that get progressively shorter and the beginning of days becoming longer. It is a time of celebration for just about every culture and every religion. In multicultural Kensington Market in Toronto, the Winter Solstice is celebrated with a “Festival of Lights”.

Kensington Market

How to describe Kensington Market. Small shops in modified Victorian houses line a maze of streets and alleys. The market was originally founded by eastern European Jews at the turn of the 20th century. They sold clothes, furs, food and giftware from the homelands of various immigrant communities. Today, the buildings and streets are the same but the products on offer come from around the world rather than just Europe.

But Kensington is far more than a market. It is meeting place for community — for people in the area and for people like me who live on the other side of the city. We come together on regular days to shop or for a great bowl of noodles and, on special days, for one of their many commercial-free, hand-made festivals.

DSCN0436 1024x768 Celebrating the Winter Solstice Not so Solo

Canada's National Animal, the Beaver, is a highlight of the Parade.

The Festival of Lights
A solo traveler in Toronto will never be alone at the Festival of Lights. It attracts hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are all welcome to join the parade which starts at the corner of Oxford and Augusta at 6pm. You just meet and go with the flow.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a drum, a pot and stick if that’s what you have, bells, a lantern, wear a costume… it’s all good. Artists and performers add to the mix and it’s good fun for all.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Festival.