Last weekend, I was on my way to the midtown, Manhattan. I was going to lead a Secular Solstice celebration, that I’d been planning for a year. Humanists of New York, from across the country, and a couple from oversees, were going to come together to celebrate how our species conquered winter.
As it turned out, winter was not cooperating. Weather was awful. My fingers were knuckle-white cold as I hauled a heavy electric keyboard through the slush.
But despite the weather, a hundred and fifty people came to the center of a city of dazzling light, that doesn’t go dark even on the longest night of the year. We sang songs together and listened to stories about humanity’s journey through history.
I opened up the night with a story about winter – the first humans who struggled against the cold and darkness, learning to understand their world. I told the story of Stonehenge – an ancient astronomical calendar, built by farmers who needed to know when the sun would come, and when it’d go, so they could better plan for the future.
Stonehenge took centuries to build. It took ancient humans, with no written language or formal mathematics, decades of measuring the sun’s position against wooden posts. When those wooden posts proved too fragile and ephemeral to measure the sun, they were replaced by huge stones – eight thousand pounds each, carted from 150 miles away.
It took ingenuity. It took coordination. It took a dedication to long-term thinking. And it took community, to keep a young civilization focused for two hundred years, to work together and answer their first astronomy question:
When will the sun go away, and when will it come back?
Our Winter Solstice celebration was about all those things – honoring the past, planning for the future, and bringing together a people who are willing to work hard to answer difficult questions. For two hours, those themes were revisited in various songs we sung together, led by friends of mine that each brought a unique energy to the experience.
Right now we’re putting together an album that includes many highlights from the night, and a book that includes all of the songs and stories, as well as commentary on how I put that content together, assembling a holiday ritual from the ground up. For the time being, here is a complete setlist for the night:
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Light
The Story of Winter
A spoken piece, written and led by Raymond Arnold.
Serenity
A group litany, modified and led by Raymond Arnold.
The Story of Voices
A spoken piece about gathering together and singing. Written and led by Alex Federici.
Bring the Light
A song about ancient people, calling out for light and life.
Written and led by Alex Federici.
What a Wonderful World
A song about taking joy in the world around us.
Written by Louis Armstrong. Led by Alex Federici and Myriam Phiro.
Let it Snow
A song about human companionship (and bodily warmth).
Written by Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne. Led by M Hans Liebert
Move the World
A song about levers, fifty thousand pound boulders, and metaphors. Written and led by Raymond Arnold.
Twilight
Bitter Wind Blown
A lullaby about winter, in a confusing, scary world. Written by Raymond Arnold. Led by Myriam Phiro, Glen Raphael and Miya Perry.
Do You Realize
A song about love, and death, and understanding the world. Written by Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. Led by Alex Federici.
When I Die
A lighthearted song about death, written and led by Glen Raphael.
God Wrote the Sky
A song about science, written by Cat Faber and led by Alex Federici.
Times They Are a Changin’
A song about our history, and our future. Written by Bob Dylan. Led by Glen Raphael.
Darkness
Beyond the Reach of God
A written piece about what it means, to live in a world where God doesn’t answer prayers.
Written by Eliezer Yudkowsky. Abridged and spoken by Raymond Arnold.
Blowin’ in the Wind
A song about humanity’s growing pains in an unfair world.
Written by Bob Dylan. Led by Glen Raphael.
Blue Skies
A song about yearning to be more than what we are. Written by Phil Robinson. Performed by The Bliss Jockeys.
Bitter Wind Blown, Reprise
A promise to the future. Written by Raymond Arnold. Led by Myriam Phiro, Glen Raphael and Miya Perry.
A Little Echo
A song about two lives intersecting, and being remembered.Written by Raymond Arnold. Performed by Alex Federici and Lesley Shannon.
No One is Alone
A song about making decisions as best you can. Written by Stephen Sondheim and abridged by Raymond Arnold. Led by Alex Federici.
A Candlelit Story
A personal story, told by Raymond Arnold
The Stars at Night
Footage of the Earth from the International Space Station.
Light
Brighter Than Today
An anthem for a better world. Written by Raymond Arnold. Performed by The Bliss Jockeys.
Something Impossible
A song about just shutting up and just doing the impossible. Written by Raymond Arnold. Performed by Alex Federici and Glen Raphael.
Lean on Me
A song about turning to your friends, and knowing they can turn to you. Written by Bill Withers. Performed by The Bliss Jockeys
Here Comes the Sun
A song about winter’s end. Written by George Harrison and the Beatles. Led by Glen Raphael.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
A song about the power of an idea. Written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne. Led by Raymond Arnold.
Bring the Light, Reprise
A song about human light. Written and led by Raymond Arnold and Alex Federici.
A Pale Blue Dot
An essay about our tiny world. Written by Carl Sagan. Presented by Alex Federici and Raymond Arnold
Uplift
A song about progress Written by Andrew Eigel. Led by Glen Raphael.
Five Thousand Years
A song about the future we can build. Written by Raymond Arnold. Led by Alex Federici and the Bliss Jockeys. |
Special thanks to The Bliss Jockeys for performing some of the key songs for the night, including the title theme, “Brighter Than Today,” and the finale for the evening, “Five Thousand Years,” joined by the event’s co-host, Alex Federici.
Pictured above are the band’s performers for the evening, from left to right: Josh Friedman (guitar), Ellen Weiss (vocals), Phil Robinson (vocals and guitar), Alex Federici (vocals), Myriam Phiro (vocals), Kristina Latour (vocals), Leyla Mesic (vocals), Lesley Shannon (vocals), Casper Paludan (drums), and Merter Yildirim (bass).
