CLARION – Clarion University Planetarium will present Season of Light, a festive 40-minute program that traces the development of many of the world’s most endearing holiday customs – from the burning Yule log, sparkling Christmas tree lights and candles in windows, to the lighting of luminarias in the American Southwest and the traditional ritual of the Hanukkah Menorah.
“Season of Light” is narrated by Noah Adams, NPR’s National Desk Senior Correspondent and features the winter sky. Showtimes will be at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5 and 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 12. The show is free and open to the public. Families are welcome. Seating is limited. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and no one will be allowed entrance once the show has begun.
The show recounts the historical religious and cultural rituals practiced during the time of winter solstice – not only Christian and Jewish, but also Celtic, Nordic, Roman, Irish, Mexican and Hopi. It also takes a look at some of our more light-hearted seasonal traditions: from gift-giving and kissing under the mistletoe, to songs about lords a-leaping and ladies dancing, and the custom of decking the halls with greenery and candles. St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus all drop by as well.
Naturally, there is some astronomy in “Season of Light.” Audiences learn a selection of Northern hemisphere winter constellations, and find out why there are seasons, through demonstrations of the Sun’s path across the sky throughout the year, and the Earth’s tilt and orbit around the Sun. The program explores the possible astronomical explanations for a “Star over Bethlehem” in the last quarter of the show: comets, meteors, novae and supernovae, and planetary conjunctions.
For more information, contact Sharon Montgomery, chair of the physics department at (814) 393-1899.